Through the Lens
by Twifanfictionrec
Summary: Bella Swan is trying to pave her way in the world, as a photographer, somewhat known, with ten thousand followers on Instagram. What happens when she receives a direct message on Instagram from a movie star, someone who has more than fifty million followers? Rated M.
1. Chapter 1-First day

**Chapter 1**

I sighed and tugged at the strap of the heavy bag I was carrying, which was digging painfully into my shoulder, and continued walking towards my destination. This is the part I hated the most about my job. As a photographer, it was a thumb rule for me to carry my camera and equipment wherever I went, though it sucked at how heavy all of it was. I sighed again, and put my thumb between the strap of the heavy bag and my shoulder to relieve the pressure for couple of minutes.

Having graduated from college two years prior, with a degree in photography, I had moved to LA, the entertainment capital, hoping for an opportunity to showcase my talent. I also had a minor in English literature, a back up that Charlie, my father had insisted upon. Why, though, I _still_ didn't understand. It's not like I could use the English degree for anything, even to teach at primary level. But to appease Charlie, I did it anyway, a compromise, since I went to college in New York, so far away from my home in the tiny town of Forks, Washington. I loved my town, the green surrounding forest, the heavy overcast of clouds, I loved my father and my friends, but it wasn't enough. I wanted more from life than to eat at the diner every Wednesday with my dad, and hang out at the La Push beach every weekend. I wanted to travel and see the world through the lens of my camera.

My love for photography was born when my dad gifted me my first camera when I was just seven- a small, bright orange camera, with flower stickers on it. When I turned nine, he got me a digital camera, in purple, and enrolled me into the kids photography class held once a week at the rec center. When I turned fifteen, I started my own blog, posting the photos I clicked. By the time I passed out of college at the age of twenty-one, I had approximately five thousand followers on my Instagram page dedicated to my photography, and now two years later, the number had grown to ten thousand followers. I focused on posting the smaller things people often ignored- a turquoise colored door covered with vines, a small girl licking pink ice cream, or an old man feeding birds early in the morning. I had posted a few photographs of myself as well, though they were few and far in between. Like any photographer, it was my dream to be recognized by my photos. I dreamt of the day when someone would look at a photo, and say, that's a Bella Swan click. I wanted my photographs up in galleries, where the high-class people came to admire it, spouting off shit that no one understood, and buying over priced prints of my photographs.

But having followers on Instagram did not ensure success any more than moving to LA did. Since moving here, I had been struggling, hardly being able to make the rent at the end of each month for the small one bedroom apartment I was living in. I took up as many jobs as I could, clicking portraits of students passing high school, photographs of couples newly engaged, even doing kids parties here and there, but it was hardly enough. I was hoping to change this today.

Somehow, Alice Cullen Whitlock, the Alice Cullen Whitlock, had come across my page on Instagram and contacted me. Everyone knew about the Cullens- Carlisle Cullen, 55, the head of the family and country's top plastic surgeon; Esme Cullen, 52, loving wife and the mother of three along with being a successful interior designer; the eldest child, Emmett Cullen, 28, the highest paid defense lawyer; and of course, the other son, twin of Alice, Edward Cullen, 25. Edward started acting at a very young age of 5, appearing in several commercials, went on to star in a very successful movie franchise at the age of 17 and by the time he turned 21, he was a millionaire movie superstar and America's heartthrob.

Not only did Alice come from a successful family, she was dating Jasper Whitlock, 26, for almost five years now. He was also a movie superstar, having appeared as the second lead in the franchise movie that was the reason for Edward and his success. Jasper's elder sister, the beautiful, custom car designer Rosalie, 27, was married to Emmett. So all in all, beautiful and successful people surrounded Alice Cullen Whitlock, and she made sure that she wasn't over shadowed by their success.

At the age of 25, Alice Cullen Whitlock, the princess of the Cullen family, was the proud owner and creator of the brand ACWdesigns, one of the more prestigious fashion brands out there and the reason for some of the most popular fashion trends. She was now starting her own makeup line, and she wanted to do a "teaser-shoot", as she put it, where she would give a preview of her makeup line without showcasing the products properly. The idea was to build anticipation for her makeup, creating hype for it, so that people would want it; buy it even if they didn't need it.

So that's where I was going today, carrying equipment, which weighed more than I did, hoping to score this job. Alice, well, Alice's manager who I had been in contact with after the initial contact with Alice herself on Instagram, had informed me that there were other photographers doing the "teaser-shoot" as well, and although everyone would be paid, only the photos Alice like best would be showcased. What was more, there was a possibility of being selected to shoot the entire launch of the make up line. This was a big stepping-stone for me, and I needed today's shoot to go well.

I shifted the camera bag to my other shoulder and peered down at the maps on my phone, which was telling me that I had arrived at my destination. I looked at the brick building I was standing outside, trying to locate the house number, not seeing anything except a small buzzer. Taking a deep cleansing breath, I pushed the buzzer and waited for someone to open the door. A tall woman, with dark hair and square glasses, opened the door, reminding me of a young Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter, the way she was pursing her lips in disapproval.

"Isabella Swan?" she asked, her voice just as stern as her expression, as she perused me from head to toe. I shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny, wishing I had worn something more formal such as a pant- suit like her rather than my ripped jeans with an off shoulder, black and white striped top. _What did she expect,_ I thought to myself.I was an artist, we weren't known for our fashion sense.

"Umm, yes, hello," I said softly and holding out my hand, "I'm Isabella Swan."

She stared at my hand for couple of seconds before taking it quickly and leaving it just as quickly, as though I had electrocuted her.

"Please show me your ID."

I fumbled, placing some of the equipment I was carrying on the ground gently, before taking out my driving license from the small, black leather sling purse I was carrying. Once she was satisfied that I was indeed Isabella Swan, she turned and started walking down the hall without saying a word to me. I shook my head slightly at her rudeness, before picking up my equipment hurriedly and following after her.

We entered into a brightly lit room, where one wall was made entirely of glass, overlooking into a beautiful garden and the remaining walls were pristine white. Huge racks of clothes were pushed against the walls, and even more clothes littered the floor. In the middle of the room was a huge white rug, with a plush blue sofa, a black marble table and matching armchairs on it. A woman with short, spiky, raven colored hair and green eyes, sitting on the sofa, looked up at us from her phone as we entered.

"Hi," she smiled, standing up and holding out her hand. "I'm Alice Cullen Whitlock."

I took at her hand and said, "Mrs. Whitlock, I'm Isabella Swan. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She laughed lightly and said, "Please, call me Alice. I insist."

I grinned at her, "Well then, please call me Bella." Alice was definitely much nicer than the wannabe McGonagall who had opened the door.

* * *

I sat on the small couch with my feet propped up on the small table in front of me in the small living room of my apartment, checking my Instagram account. Everything in my apartment was small- the small couch sat in front of a small TV and overlooked a small kitchen. Towards the right was my small bedroom with a small bed and a small window in it. A small bathroom adjoined the bedroom and had a second door, so it could be accessed from the small living room as well.

My meeting with Alice had gone exceedingly well. She had explained to me more about the make up brand, her idea behind it, and her vision as to where she wanted to take it. I had to give her this, as privileged as she was coming from such a rich background, Alice was definitely hard working and very focused. She showed me the products she wanted to do the "teaser-shoot" with, and though they weren't final yet in terms of packaging and looks, the product itself that she had created was incredible. She had "swatched", as she said, the products on my hands, and though, admittedly my knowledge of makeup is limited, those products felt and looked amazing. I had no doubt that her make up line would take off just as her clothing line had.

Since this was a "teaser-shoot", where the products were not supposed to be properly shown, and since the packaging of the makeup was anyway not yet final, I decided to take abstract photos of the product itself, using her black marble table as my back drop and even a plain white sheet of paper for a couple of photographs. Not to brag, even I was impressed with myself, by how well the photographs had turned out. Alice also commented I was the first photographer she met for the shoot who had used her table as the back drop, most opting to use the garden outside. Hearing that, I had felt smug, knowing that at the very least, I was innovative, and that was a big plus.

Now, as I sat here much later, checking my Instagram, I had gained approximately four hundred followers and counting within the course of this afternoon, thanks to Alice Whitlock, who had followed me on Instagram immediately after I had left her office.

 _At the very least, now I can make some money by posting about teas on my Instagram,_ I thought, smirking to myself.

* * *

I pushed my bangs away from my sweaty forehead, and cursed at myself inwardly again, for taking up this stupid gig of shooting a five year old's birthday party. I didn't understand why the parents thought it would be a good idea to throw a party in this scorching heat, with kids screaming and running all around. I wiped the sweat from the camera that had transferred from my face, with the end of my tank top for the one-hundredth time, cursing at myself once again.

It had been exactly one week since my shoot with Alice, and I had yet to hear from her. As well as I had thought I did that day, I was now beginning to lose hope of being selected. I was coming to regret being innovative, and maybe I should have done the basic clicks. What was more, not only had I stopped gaining followers after two days, thanks to her following me on Instagram, but now people were slowly un-following me after realizing that I was just another photography account and not someone related to the Cullens or the Whitlocks.

I sighed heavily as I put the camera to my face once again to click these stupid children jumping on the stupid fucking bouncy castle.

* * *

"Fuck," I cursed loudly, as my phone rang from the back pocket of my jeans. I hurried to open the door of my apartment, while holding my camera equipment and two grocery bags.

Once inside, I placed my camera equipment by the door, before answering the phone, a little breathlessly, "Hello?"

"Bella?" The voice on the other side of the phone answered, as I walked into my kitchen, placing the grocery bags on the slab, next to the stove.

"Yes?"

"Hi, this is Alice."

My breath caught in my throat. _This was it,_ I thought, closing my eyes, and saying a silent prayer.

"I just wanted to tell you to check the Instagram page of TheACWBeauty. I think you will be pleasantly surprised."

"I... what?"

"TheACWBeauty page, Bella, on Instagram."

I furrowed my brows and leaned on the kitchen slab, listening to Alice on the other end.

"TheACWBeauty? Is that the page of your new makeup line?" I asked her, still feeling a little frenzied.

"Yup. Call me back on this number once you do." That was all she giggled on the phone, before she hung up the phone.

If Alice Whitlock had personally called me, and asked me to call her back, it probably meant good news, right? I opened the app hastily, barely noticing the notifications, which were significantly high in number as compared to usual, and typed in "TheACWBeauty" in the search bar. I was floored when I saw the page for Alice's new makeup line. The page already had approximately two hundred thousand followers and ten posts. The first one was a plain black screen with the words "Shop TheACWBeauty, Coming soon", and the remaining all were photographs that I had clicked. I opened one, and saw the photo had around twenty five thousand likes and more than two thousand comments. Each of the photos had likes and comments surpassing thousands, and the numbers continued to rise, and Alice had tagged me in each and every one of the photos. In the description of each photo, she had specially mentioned my name as the photographer along with my Instagram handle. The small notification tab in my app kept buzzing, as I saw the continuous flow of likes and follows on my page.

It was all so overwhelming. I kept my phone down on the slab, and slid down to the floor, putting my head in between my knees, as I took deep breaths, unable to stop the flow of my tears. This was it. I had done something, had achieved something. I leaned my head back, and whispered a broken "thank you" out to the universe. Wiping my tears and still sitting on the floor, I took my phone from the slab. I watched once again in astonishment for a few seconds as Instagram continued to notify me about the escalating number of likes and follows on my page, before changing my settings to not receive notifications. I laughed silently, thinking back to how excited I had gotten when I had gotten a hundred followers. Shaking my head, I called Alice back.

"So, did you like your surprise?" Alice's voice greeted me from the other end of the phone.

"Thank you so much, Alice. I can't tell you how thankful I am to you." I said a little breathlessly into the phone.

"Bella, don't simper," Alice reprimanded from the other side. "I didn't do you any favor. Your photos were the best, which is why you got this."

"Be as it may, Alice, I'm still incredibly thankful to you."

"You're sweet. Listen, can you come by to my office tomorrow? We need to go over the next course of action."

I finally got up from my position on the floor after ending the call with Alice, feeling a little stiff from sitting there for so long. I wanted to check my Instagram and see the number of my followers, but stopped, forcing myself to first put away the groceries I had bought earlier. Sitting on the couch, with an apple in my hand, I bit into it as I opened the Instagram app, like the notification whore I was. The app displayed that I now had 14,743 followers. I had gained approximately four thousand followers within the past couple of hours or so, and the numbers were still climbing. Sniggering, I focused my attention on the hundred or so direct messages I had received. I always made sure to check these regularly, since a lot of people inquired and sent business queries through these, even though my email id was mentioned in my bio.

I concentrated on first deleting any messages with started with the words "Hey beautiful" or "Hey sexy" or the likes of these. Focusing on the few messages left, I took my time as I slowly read through them, choosing to reply to few, and deleting the others, there was no way I was going back to doing kiddy parties now.

Scrolling through the messages, I opened a new message from "TheEdwardCullen", with a little blue tick next to the name.

 _No fucking way!_

* * *

 **A/n: Hi guys, this is the first story I'm ever writing. Please be gentle. Let me know what you think. Also, if you want, I could actually create an Instagram account for the story, and post pictures. Tell me in the reviews if you want that. Lot of love, xoxo.**


	2. Chapter 2-First message

Beta'd by **twificoholics**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

I opened my direct messages, and felt the air in my lungs whoosh out, in a stuttering semblance of a breath, as I saw that the very third message was from none other, than "TheEdwardCullen". I gaped at the screen of my phone, trying, for the life of me to fathom, if my sight had finally succumbed to the lure of eternal delusion. Still benumbed, I clicked on the tiny photo to direct me to the profile of the person, and the first thing I saw was, the little blue tick next to the name of the person. Then I saw that the icon, which displayed the number of followers, read- no, scratch that- screamed, 54M.

 _Okay, deep breaths- In and Out, In and Odearfuckingalmightyinheaven._

Trying to quash, the absolute hysteria wracking through every fibre of my being, I willed my brain to function and decided to act rationally, like a mature, pragmatic person.

So, I closed the app and uninstalled it. Turning my phone off, I cleaned the screen until I could see my reflection in it, and then turned it on again. Once my phone showed that I had network again, I re-installed the Instagram app, and logged into my account. Hesitating for a couple of seconds, I finally clicked on the icon for direct messages, and scrolled down. The message from TheEdwardCullen was sitting smugly, glaringly obvious, amongst other the inconsequential messages. Going on the profile again, I saw nothing had changed- the little blue tick was still there along with 54M followers.

 _Holy fucking shit!_

Edward Cullen had messaged me. Not just anyone, Edward Cullen, the Edward Cullen, the one and only, the movie star, the one who had a little blue tick next to his name and fifty four million followers on Instagram, that Edward Cullen, had messaged me- plain, ol' Bella Swan. I hyperventilated, for what seemed like hours, before standing up and pacing the small area of my living room. I ineptly traipsed down the cheap flooring of my home, from my living room, to my self-effacing kitchen, opening and closing the doors of my fridge. I wandered into my bedroom and back to my living room, all the while, fidgeting my thumbs, and torturing my bottom lip with my teeth. Sitting back on the couch, I picked up my phone and saw the message was still there. Taking a deep breath, I finally read the message:

 **" _Hello, I'm Edward Cullen. I believe you just did a shoot for my sister, Alice's, new make up line. I saw the pictures and they are truly phenomenal. You are extremely talented. I found this photo of yours on your profile, and at the risk of sounding like a complete creep, I just wanted to say you're absolutely breath taking."_**

My eyes were wide as saucers, and I felt, as though my heart was trying to beat out of my chest. I read the message thrice before comprehending its meaning. Finally, I opened the picture he had sent. It was a black and white self-portrait. I was standing in front of the full-length mirror, with my camera on the tripod in front of me, resting one arm on top of the camera, while the other hand was on the click button of the camera. The only lighting in the photo was of the small lamp behind me, which stood next to my bed, as I stared straight ahead.

I had taken this picture around two months back, a particularly hard time for me. I had hardly done any shoots that month, and just barely scratched by, for the first time, having to choose between groceries and being able to make rent. I had wanted to give up then, wanted to go back to Forks, knowing that there, at the very least, I would have the safety of a roof, and maybe I could teach classes at the Rec Centre. I had taken this picture to remind myself to not give up on my dream. It was a reminder that even in tough times, I would persevere and shine through. Yeah, it was some deep fucking bullshit, but it made me stay in LA.

The absolutely breath taking Edward Cullen, had called this photo, _absolutely breath taking._

But what surprised me even more was the amount of posts he must have gone through, to reach to this picture. I tried to upload at least once every two days, obviously missing some days, but even then he had to go through at least twenty posts to get here. I was baffled that someone like Edward Cullen checked out my profile. Going back to his message, I clicked on reply. After several attempts of trying to form an acceptable reply and a few agitating minutes later, I finally came up with this:

 ** _"Hi. Thanks a lot for your kind words. It's really surreal to receive such a compliment from someone like you. Thank you again."_**

After re-reading the reply, a couple of times, I finally pressed send, before throwing my phone down, next to me, leaning back on the couch to close my eyes. This was turning into an overwhelming week, and it was only Tuesday.

* * *

On Thursday, I decided to go to the coffee shop near my apartment to treat myself with a delicious, albeit expensive, coffee, as a reward for doing well on Alice's makeup line. I had met Alice's team yesterday, everyone who was involved in the development of TheACWBeauty. The packaging had been finalized, and now they wanted to gradually start revealing the products. I had to send an outline for the shoots I planned to do, based on the specification provided by Alice and her creative director, listing the equipment and the props, which I might require. I had to send this by tonight to the wannabe McGonagall, who I learnt was actually Alice's assistant, and went by the name, Mrs. Cope.

I hadn't heard back from Edward since Tuesday, when I had replied back to him on direct message of Instagram. I didn't expect him to reply, figuring that the message from him was a one-time occurrence and unlikely to happen again. But it still hurt, kind of.

I had been a follower of his from much before, liking every picture, commenting here and there, obsessively staring at his posts, specially the ones which had his beautiful face in them- the bronze colored hair, the smoldering emerald green eyes, the sharp cheekbones that could cut mountains, the straight nose. However, after he had messaged me, something had changed.

Until the message, there was always a screen between Edward and I, where he existed on the virtual side of it, and I, existed on the other side, the reality. The reality, where normal people like me only dream of meeting stars, always watching them from far away, building up fantasies in our minds, imagining them to be a certain way. But after that message, there was a physical, tangible proof that Edward existed in reality as well. He wasn't just someone I saw on the big screen or read about in the newspaper anymore. There was an invisible thread, which connected his virtual, ethereal end to my reality. Maybe this was why it hurt more than it should have when he didn't reply back.

And maybe that's why I compulsively opened my Instagram app again for the umpteenth time in two days, to ensure I didn't miss his reply, just incase he did decide to revert back. The sip of the java chip Frappuccino that I had just taken got stuck in my air pipe, as I coughed incessantly, staring the new message from TheEdwardCullen. Opening it, I saw he had replied with a one liner that read:

 ** _"Someone like me?"_**

He had replied. He didn't need to reply back, but he did. The conversation could have ended at that last message I had sent. He could have gone on with his life, forgetting about the message from some random chick on Instagram, and I would have gone on with my life, albeit reluctantly. But he chose to reply back to me. I smiled involuntarily at the thought, staring at his tiny picture for a couple of minutes, before replying:

 ** _"Yeah, you know, someone like you. I mean, like, someone who is so beautiful that even angels want to cry."_**

I sent the message, before groaning loudly and cursing at myself, making the couple sitting at the next table stare at me. Who wrote shit like that? What did it even mean? Why would angels want to fucking cry? _Yeah, like that's important right now, Bella._

Rolling my eyes at myself, I thanked the Gods above that Instagram had the option to unsend a message. Pressing down on the bubble, which held my reply, I was just about to select unsend, when I noticed a small ' _seen_ ' appear next to the bubble.

I groaned louder, and this time, several people turned to look at me. No, them looking at me, as if I was a raving lunatic, wasn't even remotely as embarrassing as Edward having read that message. I banged my head on the table I was sitting at. I cursed at myself again, this time, because, now, apart from being painfully embarrassed, my head also hurt.

 _Why, God, why me?_

Edward Cullen had chosen to message _me,_ out of the fifty four million people that followed him. And not only that, he had fucking replied back to me. How many people on this planet could claim, that not only did their favorite celebrity message them, but also, they were lucky enough to receive a second message. I'm damn sure, not very many. And now, I had wasted that second opportunity. I could have messaged something cool, something funny, something, which would have made him want to message me again. Anything would have been better than this weird message, I had sent. But no, I had to send that one creepy message that would turn him off of me, forever.

I glanced at my phone, and saw that Edward hadn't replied, even after seeing the message. Of course, he wouldn't. Who would, after that fucked up, stupid message?

I rubbed my forehead, trying to ease the throbbing, because of the bang on the table earlier. I decided to send him another message. I couldn't possibly make this situation worse.

 _ **"I'm so sorry for that extremely awkward message, where I sounded like a fucking tumblr quote. I just meant that when some one as good looking as you finds, someone like me beautiful, it feels unreal. That's what I meant to say. Again, so sorry for that weird angels cry message."** _

Waiting for another ten minutes or maybe it was twenty five, when he still didn't revert back, I sighed quietly, before throwing the overly priced, excessively sweet, still half-full drink away, to go home.

* * *

I was lying on my bed, in the dark, checking the updates on my social media. I had sent the email to Mrs. Cope; I had a meeting with Alice tomorrow, along with her financial manager and creative director, to review my plans and make any necessary changes required.

I was very deliberately ignoring the icon for direct messages, which indicated I had thirty-eight new messages. I was also, consciously skipping all the photographs and videos that had Edward in them, which was difficult, especially because I followed five different kinds of fan pages, dedicated to the very man, I was trying to ignore. I scrolled through my Instagram feed, updating myself on what the Kardashians were up to. After hearing Khloe say 'fuck', five times in a sentence, and Kim say 'like', ten times, I finally gave in, and checked my direct messages. My heart skipped a beat, when I saw that the very second message was from TheEdwardCullen, the time stamp showing _4 minutes ago._ I opened it quickly to read what it said:

 ** _"Hahaha. A tumblr quote? Now that you've mentioned tumblr, I'm totally re-reading that message, imagining it in a weird font, slapped on a totally random picture."_**

I rejoiced silently, and thanked the Gods above that he had replied, even after the spastic message I had sent. I typed out a quick reply:

 _ **"It would totally look pretty cool written on top of some birds flying. Imagine, a couple of birds in the sky, and this message right on top of it. I'm sure the tumblr world would say it's fucking poetic or some shit!"** _

His reply was instantaneous:

 **" _I'm pretty sure tumblr would find it written on top of a pair of shoes also poetic."_**

I laughed a little. I was about to reply, but his message came first:

 ** _"Also, you find me good looking? And, what do you mean by someone like you?"_**

I ignored his question of what I meant by someone like me, instead, focusing on the other part of his message with:

 ** _"Obviously, don't pretend as if this is news to you. Everyone, including yourself I'm sure, finds you good looking."_**

I bit my lip, as I waited for his reply. A quick scroll, through the profile of the film he was promoting, informed me that he, along with the entire cast, were currently in Paris. It was presently ten at night in LA, which, according to Google, meant that it was seven in the morning in Paris. I wondered, why was he up so early. My heart beat loudly, in excitement as I saw his reply come in a bubble on the screen:

 ** _"Okay, I confess, I do actually think I'm good looking, but in a totally non-conceited way (I mean, mostly non-conceited)."_**

I giggled at the message. Before I could reply, I received another message from Edward:

 ** _"And you ignored my question. I want a reply, Ms. Swan. What did you mean by someone like you?"_**

I stared at the _Ms. Swan_ for a good couple of minutes, blood rushing to my face, as I felt myself getting a little turned on, by his assumed commanding tone. Shaking my head, to come out of my stupor, I replied to him:

 ** _"Yeah, you know, someone like me. I mean, like, someone who literally looks like the girl next door, with no special or redeeming features in my looks."_**

Yes, I tried to make my message look cute, to hide the self-depreciating factor of it, replying to the message in the exact way I had, when he asked what I meant by someone like him. I stared impatiently, at the three dots that came in a bubble on the direct message window, indicating that he was typing. Finally, his reply came:

 ** _"Didn't anyone ever tell you? The girl-next-door is the prettiest one, the one you dream about, the one you want to marry, the one you want to give your all to. She is the one you pray for, that one day maybe, she'll give you a chance. The girl-next-door is also the naughtiest one, the one that hides behind the innocence of her face, the one that does wicked things to your body, the one that make_ _s_ _all your fantasies come true. The girl-next-door is the best girl."_**

I didn't sleep that night.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey, all you lovely readers. I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I will be posting a new chapter every week, and I promise, I'll try, to not fall of the wagon, so to speak, and delay in posting.

Couple of things:

Firstly, a million thanks to **_twificoholics_** , who took the time and effort to beta my horrible writing. If you like what you're reading, it's only because of her. Go follow her on Instagram, same name there, cs she's fucking awesome.

Secondly, speaking of Instagram, I took your advice, and created an Instagram for this story. Go to **_throughthelensfanfiction_** , where I post awesome pics for the story, and sneak peaks from the upcoming chapters.

Thirdly, please review :)


	3. Chapter 3-First text

**Beta'd by** _ **twificoholics**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

The next day, as I was walking towards Alice's office, and checking my phone simultaneously, I saw that the number of my followers on Instagram had increased to a whopping thirty five thousand. I had gained approximately, twenty thousand followers overnight. Furrowing my brows, I scrolled down through my notifications, trying to see the reason behind such frenzy. I gasped, as I saw the notifications, _TheEdwardCullen started following you_ , time stamped thirty minutes ago.

So, I was wrong. I hadn't gained twenty thousand followers over-night, I had gained them in the past half hour, since Edward had started following me. Edward certainly created a buzz, even doing something as random, as following someone on Instagram.

Him, following me on Instagram, it solidified our- friendship, I want to say, but I wasn't sure what was this. I would have said that this was nothing, but after that message of his last night, about the girl-next-door, I wasn't so sure anymore. That message of his was intense, indicating that maybe, he wanted more. But then again, maybe I was wrong. Maybe, that message meant nothing, and I was just reading into it, because I wanted it to mean more.

 _God, I wanted it to mean more._

Going to my direct messages, I saw that Edward had also sent me a message.

" _Hey, I just heard a new joke from a fan. Wanna hear it?"_

Wow, Edward Cullen was asking me if he could tell me a joke. I snickered, because he sounded like a boy in middle school, trying to talk to a girl. I continued to walk towards Alice's office, as I typed out,

" _Sure."_

I wasn't certain, when he would reply, but I needn't have worried. His reply was instantaneous:

" _Why was six afraid of seven?"_

I rolled my eyes. Everyone knew that joke, and I couldn't believe Edward would even send me that. He was kind of a dork.

" _Because, seven eight nine. That was horrible, Edward. I thought you would have a better sense of humor."_

I was kidding, and I hoped, I hadn't offended Edward. He didn't seem the stuck up type, but it's not like I knew him personally. And, you never know what might offend these celebrities.

" _But, why did seven eat nine?"_

I smiled a little at his question. I had to admit that I didn't know the reply to this. I typed a quick,

" _Why?"_

" _Because, you're supposed to have three squared meals a day."_

I halted, suddenly, in the street, giggling, as I read his reply. Shaking my head, I sent a reply, before starting to walk again.

" _I think you should stop messaging me."_

* * *

Later that night, much later, I was once again, lying on my bed in the dark, and obviously, going through Instagram. The first post on my feed was from Edward, in which, he had uploaded a picture of himself. I felt a gush of liquid in my panties, as I stared the beautiful, black and white photo of his. He was sitting in a garden somewhere, holding a cigarette to his lips, and a paper cup next to him. There was something oddly erotic about the way he was holding the cigarette. I stared at it for a couple of minutes, double tapping it.

I was very aware of the fact that Edward had initiated contact with me twice, now. I wasn't sure if he would want to hear from me, but seeing that he had messaged me the second time, with a god-awful joke, I didn't think he would mind if I messaged him. Chances were, that, he probably had no romantic interest in me, and I was okay with that fact. Well, mostly okay. He just seemed like a really nice person, from the small conversations we had had, and I figured, that maybe, I could just get to know him better.

I opened my direct messages, and decided to follow his lead, using the first message he had ever sent me. I hoped it would come across as cute to him, instead of alerting him about my stalker tendencies. I sent him the picture he had uploaded, along with this message,

" _I found this photo of yours on your profile, and at the risk of sounding like a complete creep, I just wanted to say you're absolutely breath taking."_

I smiled once I had sent that message. It was cute and adorable, and I hoped he would also see it that way. I didn't have to wait very long for his reaction, since he messaged me, almost immediately.

" _Thanks a lot for your kind words. It's really surreal to receive such a compliment from someone like you. Thank you again."_

I laughed at his reply. Yup, he definitely thought it was cute. I was about to type out another reply, but his message came, before I could.

" _Why are you up so late? Couldn't sleep?"_

I rolled my eyes, and replied back,

" _It's only eleven here, grand dad. Why are you up so early?"_

I slapped my hand on my forehead, when I read his reply.

" _How do you know it's early where I am? Are you stalking me?"_

I thought of a way to come up with a suitable response, some way to deny his claim. But how, could I tell him that I knew where he was, without giving up the fact that I was, indeed, a stalker. I racked my brain, but he sent me another message,

" _Hey, I was wondering, and you can totally say no, by the way, but I was wondering if you mind sharing your number with me? It's just that it's very tedious to keep messaging on Instagram, and it would be a lot easier if I had your number."_

I could feel my heart pounding in the darkness of my room, and my breathing got heavier as I read the message on the screen. I read it twice, just to be sure, that I wasn't misinterpreting it. Edward Cullen was in fact, asking for my number.

 _Wow! Holy fucking shit!_

I sat up in my bed, clutching my phone, as though afraid that the message on the screen would disappear. Edward Cullen had just asked for my number, _my number_. Somehow shifting from Instagram to texting seemed like the next level, not that I knew what it was. It just felt more personal than messaging on Instagram. We would no longer be strangers, speaking online. We were going offline now.

I sent him my number at the same time I received a message from him.

" _It's okay. I understand that you don't want to share it. No worries."_

I had apparently taken too long to share my number with him. I started to type out a reply, but I received a text alert, the phone dinging loudly, breaking the quite of the night.

I opened the text excitedly, my body literally vibrating on the bed.

" _Hi."_

I squealed as I read the little hi he had sent. I giggled, realizing that I now had, Edward Cullen's number. If I had first thought that him messaging me on Instagram was surreal, then that was nothing compared to this moment right here, when he sent me a small hi. Grinning widely, I replied with a quick,

" _Hi."_

The smile on my face dropped quickly, as I read his next message,

" _So, are you going to tell me, if you are a stalker?"_

I bit my lower lip, starting to reply something on the lines of no, but he messaged again.

" _It's okay, I admit that I've completely stalked you as well."_

That returned the smile to my face immediately. I smirked, thinking my stalking was probably a little more serious than his. I quickly to his message,

" _Okay, even I admit that I might have stalked you. What did you find while stalking me?"_

I might have wanted to hear him praise me, just a little. I gasped loudly as I gawked at my phone. I could feel my cheeks heating up, my face becoming uncomfortably hot from embarrassment, as I read his reply.

" _I found the five different fan pages you follow, all dedicated to me. I might have also found that you've liked most, if not all, of my photographs."_

I closed my eyes, as my eyes stung. This was so mortifying. Was this why he asked for my number, to humiliate me, to make me feel like an idiot because I was his fan? I felt so stupid, for believing that someone like Edward, someone so famous, would actually be interested in talking to me. I was probably just some form of entertainment to him, for him to see, how much he could embarrass me. I heard my phone ding, but I dreaded opening my eyes, to read what he had written. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes and braced myself for whatever next message he had sent me.

" _I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. I promise, if there were any fan pages dedicated to you, I would be following all of them. You might not have realized it, but I have also liked most, if not all of your posts. In fact, I will even admit, I've gone one step further on the stalker scale, and screen-shotted about six or seven posts that include your beautiful face in them."_

I balked when I read his message. I quickly opened my Instagram, clicking on a photo from about three weeks ago. Pressing the small text under the photo, which read _23,471 likes_ , I typed in Edward's handle in the search bar, once the list of people who had liked the photo was generated. I gasped, when I saw that TheEdwardCullen liked the photo. I went back to my profile, opening another random photo, repeating the process, and damn, he had like that too.

I felt the smile return to my face, as I shook my head slowly. I giggled softly, before opening the text window, and sent Edward a reply.

" _Don't worry, I may also have a photo or two of yours saved in my phone."_

* * *

" _I was thinking."_

I sent that to Edward. It was Sunday evening, and I was sitting on my couch, eating my dinner and watching TV, wondering why Blair and Chuck just can't get their shit together.

Edward and I had come pretty far, since the first time he had messaged me on Instagram. The invisible thread, which tied his virtual side to my reality was becoming clearer, and much stronger, almost pulling us, towards one another. We never addressed the fact that he was a superstar, whom the whole world knew about, nor what we meant to each other. But we texted each other, and our texts usually took a flirty tone.

I was finished with dinner, by the time Edward replied,

" _Might I ask, what were you wondering?"_

I smiled, replying back to him,

" _That I don't know much about you, other than the fact that you have 54 million followers on Instagram, and that you make movies for a living."_

" _Wow, that's really not a lot you know about me then. Although, I also admit, that I don't know much about you, except that you're a photographer, and abso-fucking-lutely beautiful."_

I blushed at his reply. His texts were always a little flattering, and they always sent my heart into an over drive. I was fucking sure that I would get a heart attack before I hit thirty, just because of Edward's texts. He sent another message,

" _Ask me what you want, and I'll do the same."_

I shook my head, before quickly sending,

" _What's your favorite color?"_

" _Blue. Yours?"_

" _Purple, though recently, I've started favoring green."_

I bit my lip as I sent that, wondering if he would get the reason behind me liking green. His reply came,

" _I've recently started favoring chocolate brown as well."_

My face split into a huge smile at his message. _Yup, he totally got it._

He sent another message,

" _What's your favorite food? Mine is Chinese, before you ask."_

" _Sushi,"_ I replied, shifting, to lie back on my couch. I held the phone over me, as I texted him,

" _What do you hate eating?"_

He took a couple of minutes to reply to this one,

" _Peas, specifically, mashed peas. It's just yuck. You?"_

" _Raw tomatoes. They taste like over ripe fruit."_

I sent that message, before quickly typing out another, _"Are you busy? We can talk later."_

I had realized, that he was really busy, with photo shoots and interviews and appearances and what not, and he wasn't always able to reply immediately. While I understood that, I absolutely hated when he didn't reply instantly. Maybe I was insecure, just waiting for something that I say to turn him off. His reply was instantaneous this time,

" _No, sorry. I'm in make up and this chick was trying to see into my phone."_

" _You have an interview?"_

" _Yes, a talk show."_

" _Wow, that's exciting."_

" _Eh, they're all the same. After as while, they just blur into each other."_

I bit my lip, trying to come up with a reply. I didn't know how to respond to that message. I couldn't relate to him, it's not like I went on talk shows or anything, but I did want to comfort him, because he sounded kind of like he was over it.

" _Don't you like doing interviews? I don't know, you always look so happy and at ease whenever you're doing them."_

I sent that, and bit my lip, waiting for his reply. I wasn't worried about coming across as a stalker who watched all his interviews, since we had already established our stalker tendencies with each other. However, I was worried about over stepping my boundaries. I don't know if he was comfortable opening up to me on a personal level.

" _No, I like doing interviews, they're fun and exciting. But, when I'm promoting a film, after the first couple of weeks, it becomes dull. They all ask the same questions, over and over again, nothing new. Also, it's tougher to connect with the audience in a foreign country, specially non English speaking country."_

I nodded my head, as I read his message. It made sense, what he was saying. I couldn't imagine the monotony of having to answer the same questions, day in, day out. I sent him a reply,

" _I'm sorry. I wish I could do something."_

" _Well, this interview is already going to be more interesting knowing you're going to watch it later."_

I blushed at his flirty message. Before I could say anything else, he sent another message,

" _Are we still playing twenty questions? Because I still have questions."_

I smiled, and replied to him,

" _So do I."_

" _So, where did you grow up?"_

I bit my lip as I read his message. Apparently, we had moved on to intimate questions much faster than I had anticipated. I was still thinking along the lines of what's his favorite music, but he obviously had other plans. I typed out my response,

" _Forks, Washington. It's a really small town near Seattle. Population 3,120. It rains nearly 212 days of the year there, and is surrounded by green forest. It's the prettiest place on this earth."_

My heart clenched as I wrote about my hometown. I only went back during Christmas now, not having enough funds to make more trips. I missed that place. The ding of the text alert brought me out of my reverie,

" _It sounds amazing. I would love to someday visit that place. With you."_

My heart warmed, and I smiled as I read the _'with you'_ in the text. Edward sent another message,

" _What about your family?"_

" _My dad, Charlie, still lives there. He's the chief of police. He's living with his long time girl friend, Sue, although they both deny that they're doing the living in sin :D. And no siblings, only child. Although Sue has two kids, Leah and Seth."_

I smiled, shaking my head. Leah, Seth and I always joked how we were already pseudo stepsiblings, and if only our parents would man up and marry, we could be actual stepsiblings.

I knew the next question that was coming, and sure enough, his next text read,

" _And your mom?'_

I sighed, thinking about my mom.

" _She left when I was four. I haven't heard from here again."_

I had very few memories of her. I remembered choosing the yellow paint color for our kitchen cabinets with her. I remembered planting roses with her in our back yard. I remembered being confused as to why was she crying, standing, on the doorway of our house, clutching a huge suitcase.

" _If I ever get lucky enough to be able to hold you, I would never leave you."_

I smiled, as a few tears, which had filled my eyes as I thought about my mom, escaped, when I read that message of Edward's.

* * *

On Monday, I was sitting in Alice's office, and hoping to die. Alice had called a team meeting of TheACWBeauty, and for the past hour, Riley, one of the team members, was blabbering about how they only had seven shades of nude lipsticks, when some other brand, had eleven.

 _I mean, da fuq?_

I get that it was important from a business point of view, being a makeup line and all, but why was I here, the photographer? Unless I had to click the said seven, or eleven shades of nude lipsticks, was it really important for me to be here? I bit my already bruised lip for the umpteenth time, to stop myself from saying something rude. I had a contract with Alice, where I had to be available to her, whenever she needed, for the next four months, till TheACWBeauty got launched, at the end of which, I would be paid an obscene amount of money. I mentally rolled my eyes, thinking about the zeroes that would be added to my bank account, as I heard them rattle on about nudes.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and decided it would be okay, if I didn't heard about the difference between a darker shade of pink nude and a lighter shade of pink nude.

" _So get this, I was walking on Oxford Street, minding my own business, when a very old woman just walked up to me and asked me for a kiss."_

I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing, as I typed out,

" _I hope you didn't say no."_

His reply was quick,

" _She was at least 90, and I thought it was the queen. Of course, I couldn't say no to the queen! Only after kissing her, did I realize it was just some random woman."_

I sniggered, and a few faces turned towards me. I quickly schooled my expression, and stared at Riley, as if he was telling the most interesting story. Once everyone had looked away, I quickly typed out a reply,

" _I'm sure you made her very happy. Did you slip her the tongue?"_

His reply was quick,

" _No, I didn't slip her the tongue. But do you want know whom I actually want to slip the tongue to?"_

" _Whom?"_

" _You."_

 _Well, Fuck!_ I thought, as I slipped the phone back into my pocket. I could feel my face heating up, the blood rushing to my face, and my heart gave a loud thumb. I couldn't get the image of Edward kissing me out of my head for the rest of the meeting.

The next day, the video of the interview Edward had done, while we were talking on text playing twenty questions, came out. Apparently, the interviewer had asked him, "Mr. Cullen, who are you dating currently?"

His green eyes blazed, as he peered directly into the camera, as though looking directly into my soul. He said, in dare I say, a hopeful tone, "No one, but I'm hoping, the girl-next-door will give me a chance soon."

I hadn't seen the actual interview, but it was all over Instagram. People posted this over and over again, different edits, different versions, but all saying the same thing.

After seeing that, I had texted him saying,

" _I've already given you a chance. But I don't know if you've given me one."_

His reply made my heart flutter in my chest,

" _Isabella, I thought I've been making my feelings very clear. From the very first time I saw your photo, your beauty has pulled me in towards you. I've seen beautiful people before, I work with many, and I meet many more, everyday. But I don't go around messaging them on Instagram. So no, I can not give you a chance, because all of me, I've already given to you."_

Needless to say, things were intense between us.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey, hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, please leave a review.

Thank you, _**twificoholics,**_ who beta'd this chapter and made it what it is. Follow her on Instagram, same name there, to find more amazing fictions to read.

Follow the Instagram page for this story, _**throughthelensfanfiction**_ , where I post awesome pics for the story, and sneak peaks from the upcoming chapters.

Also, lastly, I was actually waiting for someone to point it out, and finally, _**velvetWhispers,**_ pointed it out. In the first chapter, I mentioned Alice's name as "Alice Cullen Whitlock", however, she is only dating Jasperand is not actually married to him. Haha, this will come up later, so stay tuned to find out what this is all about.

Hope you're all having a lovey day. Happy reading

Lots of love.


	4. Chapter 4-First insecurities

_**Beta'd by twificoholics**_

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

I frowned as I saw that I still hadn't received a reply from Edward. I had sent him a photo of a lone brick that someone had randomly painted green, in between the sea of red bricks. I thought he would find it amusing as well, but it had been a few hours, and I had yet to receive a reply from him.

Sighing, I silenced my phone and put it in my bag, before ringing the bell of the house I was standing in front of.

After doing the shoots for TheACWBeauty, I had started to receive several offers from other brands as well, albeit much smaller in scale. I had already done some shoots for a clothing brand and a skincare brand as well, however, my interest wasn't in object photography. When I had accepted Alice's offer, it was because I had no other offer, but now, I thanked God, and mainly Alice, that I was in a position to turn down a few jobs, and choose the ones I wanted to do.

So here I was, on a Thursday afternoon, in this blistering heat, waiting for someone to open the door for me, while I tried not to kneel over by the weight of the heavy equipment I was carrying.

I was about to ring the doorbell again, but a girl, who looked not more than sixteen, suddenly opened it, just a smidge so I could only see half of her body. I stared at her, and she stared at me, neither of us saying anything. I was taken aback by the fear I saw in her eyes, and she, I think was just too young to open doors and speak to strangers. Both of us were broken out of our reverie, when someone in the back shouted, "Who is it?"

The girl in front of me trembled, as though she had received a shock, before she asked in a quaking voice, "Are you Isabella Swan?"

I nodded my head at her, and she moved aside, opening the door a little wider, just enough for me get in, before closing the door quickly behind me, as though fearing someone would see inside the house. She led me through the dark hallway, into the living room, where there was a woman, with flaming red hair sitting. I had a sudden déjà vu, of the first meeting I had with Alice, by this whole chain of events.

But that's where the familiarity of the situation ended, as the woman glared at the young girl who had brought me in, sending her scurrying down the hall. She then turned her blue eyes on me, and I almost flinched at the coldness in them. She had really curly, flaming red hair, almost like fire, and her skin was pulled tight across her face, almost looking waxy. She was too thin, the bone of her shoulders sticking out awkwardly.

I gazed at Victoria Hunter, in wonder. She had been really pretty once, an up and coming actress. She had even starred with Edward in a couple of movies. She had married James Hunter, the handsome villain in the movie franchise that made Edward, along with everyone in the movie, famous overnight. The couple had slowly faded out of limelight, mainly living in their former glory, but still loved by many. Now, she just looked like a pale shadow of her former self. It was a pity, because she was only twenty-eight.

"You're late," she said, in voice that was harsh, and raspy, almost as if she had something stuck in her throat.

I cleared my throat, feeling the need, when I heard her voice, before replying, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Hunter, I thought we agreed for three o clock."

She didn't say anything, just motioned for me to sit. I was beginning to regret taking up this job, and I had only been here for five minutes.

We discussed how she wanted her portraits to be shot, and I had to stop myself from strangling her more times than I was proud of. She was stuck up, high headed, and just plain rude. She hadn't even offered me water once since the time I had come, and spoke to me as if I was a useless amateur, incompetent at doing my job.

I could feel my blood pressure rising, when she offered no explanation as to what she wanted, and expected me to keep coming up with ideas, and then turning them down. I showed her photos of various other portraits I had done, even going on the internet, and showing her the work of a few of my favorite photographers, but there was just no pleasing her. I agree that as a photographer, it was my job to give direction to the subject, but when the subject was unwilling to accept any of my viewpoints, and then also refused to tell what she wanted, I wanted to bang my head, or better yet, hers, against the wall.

About an hour into this very painful meeting, her husband, James Hunter, interrupted us. Like his wife, he had lost most of the charm and attractiveness of his former days, his ice blue eyes, sunken in, and his blonde hair unkempt and greasy, as though it hadn't been washed for weeks. His clothes were shabby, and hung on his frame, a size too big, or maybe he had lost a lot of weight. He sauntered into the room lazily, before dropping down next to his wife. He turned his face towards her, pushing her hair away, before licking, not kissing, but licking, her neck obscenely, from the base to where her ear met her neck. He turned to me, and immediately, I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. There was something off about him, and it made me wary.

I tried to act normal and calm as I continued my discussion with Victoria. James was ogling me, so much so, that I had an overwhelming urge to cover up my bare arms, showing in the tank top that I was wearing, and the sliver of my knees, peeking out through my ripped jeans. The entire time Victoria and I talked, he didn't speak a word, just watching me. It was hard for me to not let my voice crack and keep my hands steady, trying to suppress the irrational fear I felt, from the man sitting in front of me.

Thankfully, either because Victoria didn't like the way her husband was leering at me, or because she thought that this meeting was getting nowhere, she told me to come back next week. She didn't ask me, or offer me, she just _told_ me. I didn't argue with her, wanting to get out of this disturbing house as soon as possible.

Once outside, I walked as fast as I could, away from the house, and towards my car, my heart pounding in my chest. Once I was locked inside the safety of my car, I looked down at my shaking hands. Turning on my car, I blasted the air conditioner on full, pointing it straight at my face. I closed my eyes, and leaned my head back on the seat, taking deep, calming breaths. After a few moments had passed, I felt my hysteria die down, and my heart beat return to normal. I chuckled softly.

 _God, I was a wimp._

I don't know why I had felt that way. Victoria was definitely infuriating, but it wasn't until James Hunter had walked in that I had felt unnerved. Something about him just threw me off. I had never reacted this way, never felt this kind of fear. James hadn't even done anything, he was just sitting across from me for not more than a couple of minutes, and I had reacted this way.

Shaking my head clear, and telling myself to get my shit together, I pulled out of the parking space and into the street. Just as I turned around the corner, I thought I saw James Hunter in my rear view mirror, standing at a distance, staring at my car, but in a blink of my eye, he was gone. I chuckled again. My nerves had definitely gotten the better of me.

* * *

I sighed, as I entered my apartment, dropping the heavy equipment by the door. I fell onto the couch, as I leaned back and closed my eyes. It had been a tiring day. After leaving Victoria's house, I had an engagement announcement shoot for a gay couple, which had gone ten times better than the disastrous meeting with Victoria.

Rubbing my eyes softly, I dug my phone out of my purse, which had been there since I had entered Victoria's house. I unlocked it, and my brows rose, as I saw the number of texts I had received from Edward. Ignoring the other texts in my inbox, I opened Edward's chat,

" _ **Haha, I feel bad for the poor green guy, all alone, amongst the red. We should totally sneak at night one day, and paint at least one other, so that he has company."**_

I had received this message at three in the afternoon, probably just seconds after I had put my phone in my bag. It was now seven in the evening, four hours later, and the messages from Edward had taken a serious turn, from the amused one he had first sent. After the first message, he had immediately sent another one,

" _ **Hey, I was wondering, do you like postcards?"**_

Half an hour later, he had sent another one,

" _ **Didn't the message get delivered? I asked do you like postcards?"**_

After that, he had sent a few more messages, each getting progressively more apprehensive than the last,

" _ **Bella, why aren't you replying to me?"**_

" _ **Are you ignoring me?"**_

" _ **Listen, it's almost been three hours, where are you? Are you okay?"**_

The last message from him, was sent about fifteen minutes back,

" _ **If you don't want to talk to me, just tell me. I'll stop bothering you."**_

I wanted to laugh at his face, and at the same time, smack him. I just realized, that as big as star as Edward was, he was still insecure, and a little clingy. Shaking my head, I quickly sent him a reply:

" _ **I was busy with clients. I try not to check my phone while I'm shooting. Just because I reply a little late, doesn't mean I'm ignoring you. Also, you reply to me after ages all the time."**_

I waited for his reply, biting my lip. One minute turned into five, and then ten. I could feel the day catching up with me, my emotions boiling over. I started typing out an angry text to Edward, telling him to go fuck himself, when I received a text from him,

" _ **I'm sorry. I always try to reply to you as soon as I can. I promise, from now I'll tell you my before hand if I wouldn't be able to reply back to you for long."**_

 _ **Do you like postcards?"**_

And just like that, Edward Cullen had rendered me speechless once again.

* * *

" _ **So, I heard a joke today. Wanna hear it?"**_

I grinned, as I read the message, our small fight from the previous day, long forgotten. Edward loved to share jokes, which his fans told him, and they were all usually, I mean always, really dorky.

" _ **Sure."**_

" _ **Knock, knock"**_

I grinned. I decided I wanted to mess his joke up. I knew what the standard reply was, but instead, I texted back,

" _ **I don't understand."**_

" _ **It's a joke, Bella."**_

I could almost hear the exasperated tone in his voice. I chuckled quietly, and replied,

" _ **Oh, I get it now. You're pretending to knock on the phone. Very funny, hahaha."**_

" _ **That's not the joke! You're supposed to say who's there!"**_

I laughed when I read that. Deciding to irritate him further, I replied back,

" _ **I don't get it. Why would I ask who's there on the phone? I have your number saved, I know it's you."**_

" _ **Dammit, Bella. Will you just pretend there is a door between us, you're inside, I'm outside, and I'm knocking on the door."**_

I laughed, out loud, just then. It was so much fun to mess with him. I replied back,

" _ **Oh, okay. Let's try this again."**_

" _ **Knock, knock."**_

" _ **Come in, Edward."**_

" _ **DAMMIT BELLA!"**_

I couldn't stop laughing.

* * *

I was sitting in an overcrowded bar, on Friday night, with few other people from Alice's team, nursing a glass of wine, wishing I could be back at my apartment, looking through my Instagram. We had just finished up another meeting, this time, more up to my speed, than the last one. My work with Alice was going exceedingly well. We had become good friends during these meetings and gotten to know each other better, something that was inevitable since we spent so much time working together.

Even after being in LA for two years now, I hardly had any friends, unless you counted my downstairs neighbor Angela, with whom my interaction was limited to the occasional hi and hello as we bumped on our way in or out of the building. It was difficult, to move to a new city, where you had no prior contacts or connections, and then make friends. I had spent all my time focusing on my work, and while I had hung out with a few people, mostly my clients, or people I had met through my clients, I had never clicked with anyone enough to make the effort of getting to know them more.

Alice on the other hand, had an infectious smile, became friends with anyone and everyone she met, but only select few were given the opportunity to actually hang out with her the second time. I had taken her out to lunch one day, as a thank you, and then she took me out for drinks, as a getting to know her new friend. That was the start of our friendship.

Today, after the team meeting, Riley had insisted that all of us go out for a drink, stating that we hardly knew each other. I had rolled my eyes, because I didn't really want to get to know Riley any better. Being a make up artist, Riley came across as gay, but then, he would get uncomfortably close, touching inappropriately, and I got the impression that he just acted gay as a cover for feeling up girls.

I had given a stink eye to Alice, when she had bailed, stating that as the boss, she couldn't be there, or we'd never get to bitch about her. She had winked at me, and blown me a kiss, before breezing out of her office.

 _Bitch!_

I didn't want to seem stuck up, so I had tagged along with Riley and the group, and now, I was really regretting it. These people were not my style- they were loud, obnoxious and extremely pretentious. I sat in my seat, listening to them debate over kale for ten minutes, before giving in, and taking out my phone to open Instagram.

I was over come by a foreign feeling, as I stared at the first item on my Instagram explore feed. I felt an unsurpassable amount of possessiveness as I saw the video of Edward, playing on loop. I wasn't jealous, I mean, I would be stupid to feel jealous of the millions of girls drooling over his hot ass and trying get his attention everyday, but I did feel very possessive. I wasn't okay with anyone touching him with any kind of familiarity.

The video was of Edward and his co-star, Tanya, during a press conference from earlier in the day. I watched the video, as Edward smiled into the camera, with Tanya at his side. Tanya turned and fixed his tie, smiling up at him. The video played on loop and I tortured myself by watching it again and again and again. I had hated the way her hand was lingering on his chest, the way she was looking up at him, smiling at him intimately.

Pressing my lips together, I typed out a text to Edward, knowing he was in a flight, on his way back to LA, and wouldn't be able to reply for hours.

" _ **Maybe you should make sure to fix your tie before arriving at your destination."**_

I closed my phone, my mood sourer than before, as I downed my drink.

I woke up next morning, and had a text waiting from Edward,

" _ **I'll make sure she doesn't touch me again."**_

He didn't question my craziness or make any excuse; he just accepted the way I felt. I wondered how much longer I could resist falling for this man.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys, I hope you liked this chapter. If you did, please leave a review.

I want to dedicate this chapter to _**twificoholics,**_ who also beta'd it. She has been awarded an opportunity that is too good for her to pass up. Unfortunately for me, she will no longer be able to proofread my horrible writing and make it legible.

I want to congratulate her for winning this opportunity, and wish her all the best for the future. I hope one day she returns to read this story.

In other news, head on over to the Instagram page of this story _**throughthelensfanfiction,**_ for awesome pictures and snippets from future chapters.

Hope you're all having a wonderful Saturday. See you in the next chapter.

Lots of love.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, they are all owned by SM. Also, the jokes therein are not mine and have been found on the internet.


	5. Chapter 5-First friend

**Chapter 5**

* * *

" _ **Good morning."**_

I smiled, seeing the message from Edward. I was sitting on the floor of the studio Alice had rented for the day. TheACWBeauty was launching in just over three month, and we were in full-blown publicity mode. Today, we were doing a photo shoot of models wearing her makeup, trying to showcase how the products looked on different skins. We had already shot about six models, and we had two more to go. We had more shoots scheduled in the upcoming weeks. Right now, Alice was shouting at Riley, who was responsible for doing the makeup of the models. Apparently, he had used the wrong shade of blue eye shadow.

" _ **It's one in the afternoon."**_

" _ **I'm sure it's morning somewhere."**_

I rolled my eyes, as I enjoyed watching Alice throw an eye shadow palette on Riley's head. _Wish I had popcorn!_

Edward had landed back in LA last night, or early this morning, depending on how you saw it. After he had sent that message about Tanya, he had sent another quick message, stating he had reached home safely, and he was going to crash. Seemingly, he had just woken up.

I received another text from Edward,

" _ **I feel as though I can sleep for another 12 hours, I'm so fucking tired."**_

" _ **So why don't you?"**_

" _ **I meeting my family later. I haven't seen them for a while, with the promotion of the movie and shit, and my mother would never forgive me if I choose sleep over her."**_

I sniggered at his text.

" _ **Is Edward Cullen, the famous movie star, afraid of his mother?"**_

" _ **Immensely so. Can I ask you something? You can totally say no, and I wouldn't mind, okay?"**_

I furrowed my brows at his question. We had moved past this stage long back, when we were so formal with each other.

" _ **Sure."**_

" _ **Can I call you tonight?"**_

I stared at the message, ignoring Alice shoving a tube of lipstick in Riley's face, and peered into the phone, to make sure that I hadn't misread the message. There had been a few life changing events in my life up until this point- the obvious ones, like graduating high school, or getting my degree in photography, my first client meeting, getting that call from Alice- they had all been pivotal moments in my life. But _this,_ this right here, it surpassed all those moments.

When Edward had first messaged on Instagram, over a week ago, it had been unbelievable that such a big movie star had taken the time to message me. It had been those one-off moments, which you gush about later to your girlfriends, that a famous movie star had messaged you. You feel lucky in that second, that such a big celebrity would pick you, message you, over thousands of others, a second, which you know will never happen again in your life, like a lottery.

But then, that surreal moment when he had asked for my number, it changed the equation between us. I don't know what he thought would happen between us when he first messaged me, but for me, I never expected us to move forward, become anything more than a celebrity and a fan. Nonetheless we did move forward, we talked, and the more we talked, the less I saw him as a superstar, and more as a man I wanted to spend my time with.

But this instant, right here, where he had asked if he could call me, it outshined everything else.

We had been pretty intense and heavy this past week. It felt like one of those romances I had only read about up until now, or seen in movies, where boy meets girl, they fall in love, and live happily every after, all in a matter of few weeks. Yes, it was like that, yet different. Different because this was real life, life where as much as I sometimes forgot about his superstar status, at the end of the day, it didn't change that that's what he was. He was a person, known and beloved my millions, a person, whose each and every action was scrutinized by thousands of crazy people, and a person, I was trying very hard not to fall for.

Like I said, to say that I could fall for someone in just over a week was nothing short of a fairytale romance. Even though we hadn't met, or talked on the phone even once, the intensity between us spoke levels. The fact that he was insecure when I didn't text him for a few hours, or that I was so possessive of him, and that we could communicate this to the other, we were probably better than two people, who had been dating for weeks. Granted that it had all happened in a span on one week, and a week was hardly long enough to make someone feel so much for the other, but everything with Edward felt more- more intense, more intimate, more passionate. And I realized I wanted _more,_ more with Edward.

 _I mean, at this point, most people would already by sleeping together, and we were just on a phone call._

I texted him back one word,

" _ **Please."**_

* * *

I sat on the blue sofa in Alice's office, much later that day, as we looked into the laptop, seeing how the photos had turned out. Everyone had left a while back, Riley being dangerously close to tears, leaving just the two of us. Since I was working so closely with Alice, I thought it would be good to mention it to her that Edward and I knew each other. She had been a great friend to me these past few weeks. More than that, it was Alice who had given me an opportunity, put my name out there, and I felt like I was betraying all she had done for me, by keeping this from her. I wanted to tell her before I spoke to Edward on the phone tonight, knowing, that tonight would be a turning point in my relationship with Edward.

Now as I sat on the blue sofa in front of Alice, I bit my lip, trying to come up with a way to tell her that I was kind of, pseudo dating, but not really dating, her brother.

"Alice-" I started, but before I could say anything further, she spoke.

"These look great, Bella. I was thinking that maybe we can put a screen at the party next week, and display these there."

I nodded at her, not commenting. She was throwing a pre-launch party for TheACWBeauty on Wednesday for family and close friends, where Edward was on the attendee list. I was also attending the party, not only as the photographer, but also as her friend. I didn't think it was a good idea to throw her for a loop at her own party, when she realized that Edward and I were closer than two people who, supposedly, were meeting for the first time.

Falling silent again, I counted to ten in my head before trying again.

"Um, Alice," I said softly, looking down at my hands, "I need to speak to you about something."

"Sure." Looking up, I saw Alice was still engrossed in the screen.

"Why do you use Whitlock in your name when you're not married?" I blurted out, instead. I was a total chicken.

Alice gave me a weird look, and I couldn't really blame her. I hurried to apologize, "I mean, I'm sorry. I just- it's just that I know you use Whitlock in your business, and you go by the name of Alice Cullen Whitlock. And when I first met you, I called you Mrs. Whitlock and you didn't correct me, and fuck, I'll just shut up now."

I sat back, biting my lip timidly. Alice chuckled at my rant, and replied, "It's okay. I don't mind you asking. It's actually not some big suspense or anything. When I started my company, I thought ACWdesigns sounded so much better than any other variation I came up with. ACdesigns just sound like a short form for air conditioner designs or some shit like that, so I just decided to roll with ACW."

She continued, "And as for correcting you, I'm used to it by now. Everyone I meet, mostly, calls me Mrs. Whitlock, even though they know I'm not actually married, so I just roll with it."

I nodded, as if that made perfect sense. Alice really had the weirdest logic. Procrastinating what I had to really tell her, I asked, "Wow, you must have really been sure about yourself and Jasper."

Alice bit her lip and nodded, looking down in her lap. "I was- am."

"You don't sound sure right now."

"Jasper had proposed to me." She said suddenly, looking as shocked as I felt, as though she didn't mean to say what she had just said.

"What?" I asked.

"I mean, back then, when I was starting the company," she said, looking down at her hands. "He didn't have a ring or anything, and we never told anyone, and it was just in the moment. We were just sitting, and he asked me to marry him, and I said yes. He said that I was it for him. We've never spoken of it again, but after that, I decided to add Whitlock in my business name."

"Wow." I exclaimed, not knowing how to respond to that. "Didn't anyone say anything to you about adding Whitlock?"

"Yes, but I don't think anyone expected ACWdesigns to do so well. Suddenly, everyone knew me as Alice Cullen Whitlock, and they accepted it, even though I wasn't married to Jasper."

I nodded my head, biting my lip, before saying carefully, "Okay, so what's the problem? You don't seem too happy right now."

She sighed, before looking up and saying "I don't know. Recently, I've been feeling, as though, he doesn't want me at home, or at least around him, which is why, I'm always at the office these day."

I didn't know what to reply to that. She and Jasper had been dating for so long. They were one of the few celebrity couples that everyone shipped, believed would last forever, they were like Beyonce and Jay Z.

"Alice," I started, "I'm sure that's not the case. Jasper loves you, you guys are meant to be together."

Alice just shook her head, looking thoughtful, "I know he loves me. But maybe his love is, I don't know, fading."

"What do you mean?"

She looked at me with wide green eyes. "Small things, I guess. I feel like he's hiding something from me. He's always on his phone, and when I ask him, he just brushes it off. The moment I enter a room, he just seems to find an excuse to leave."

I rolled my eyes at Alice's dramatics. "You're reading too much into it."

"We haven't had sex in three weeks."

I sputtered at that extra bit of information. Choking on air, I wheezed out, "Three weeks? You're basing years of your relationship on not having sex for three weeks? Are you fucking stupid?"

Alice glared at me, as if I had somehow offended her, which I probably had.

"We've never gone without sex for this long, Bella," she cried. "Even when we're in separate cities and he shooting for a film or something, we do the dirty over the phone."

"Okay, okay, you guys are horny. I get it."

Alice's glare intensified. I tried to pacify her, "Alice, you're definitely thinking too much. You cannot base that Jasper doesn't love you just because you guys have gotten into a rut. If you're that worried, I don't know, do something kinky, like whipped cream."

"Whipped cream? That's the best you can come up with? We're not seventeen, Bella."

My cheeks burned, I hadn't gotten kinkier than that. I have had good sex before, but it's never been, kinky, per say, just safe and normal, albeit good sex. I tried again, "Have you tried, I don't know, just talking to him?"

She shook her head, and her eyes suddenly looking glassy, "No, I- I'm scared. What if he says he doesn't want me anymore? I don't know what would I do."

A few tears escaped her eyes, as she said brokenly, "We've always been so sure about each other. When we met for the first time, we both, kind of, just knew, that we were it for each other. I always knew I was meant to be a Whitlock, and I didn't even think before using it as my name, it became my identity. Now, if we- if we're not together anymore, it will break me."

"Oh, Alice." I say softly, sliding next to her, and hugging her sideways. We sat quietly for some time, before she straightened up, and looked into the laptop again, her face devoid of any emotion, a blank canvas.

I took the hint that she didn't want to talk about it anymore. I looked at her for couple of seconds, before deciding to stop delaying any further, and said, "You know, your brother, um, he's on the attendee list for the party next week."

"Yes, so is his wife. What's your point?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, before realizing that she was talking about Emmett.

"Um, no," I stammered, "I meant Edward."

Alice looked up immediately from the laptop, and regarded me with her green eyes that matched her brother's. I gulped forcefully, trying to swallow my nerves.

Alice nodded, motioning me to continue.

"I just," I began, before stopping to take a deep breath. I continued, "I just wanted to tell you, that Edward and I talk."

Alice raised her eyebrows and asked, "Talk?"

I nodded, the words rushing out of my mouth, as I stood and started pacing, "Yeah, I mean, he messaged me on Instagram first, and then we started talking on text. But I swear that's all. We haven't even spoken on the phone, not even once. I swear. And I know I got this amazing opportunity, thanks to you, and I didn't want you to feel like I betrayed you or something, and I really like working with you, and I consider you my friend, like, not even a friend, but my best friend. And I really really love you, and I swear, I don't want to hurt you or anything, so I just wanted to let you know, that Edward and I talk. That's all."

Alice continued to stare up at me from her position on the sofa, not saying anything. Her eyebrows had risen even further, and I wondered idly if she could touch her hairline with them.

Finally, one side of the mouth quirked up, and she said, "He messaged you on Instagram? Wow, he must have been very desperate to actually use direct messaging, just so he could speak to you."

I looked at her, not understanding what she meant. "What?"

"Bella, you realize that he has almost fifty million followers, right?" _Well, fifty five actually, as of today morning_ , I mentally corrected her.

She continued, now smiling widely, "Imagine the amount of DMs he must be getting every single day. He must have changed his setting to allow DMs, and then to go through all of those, just to speak to you. Yes, he must have been quite desperate."

I gaped at her, analyzing what she had said. She was right. Even at my meager number of followers, as compared him, I had difficulty filtering messages. _He must be getting thousands everyday!_

Alice laughed loudly at the baffled look on my face. She continued, "Anyway, I already know that you guys talk, Bella."

My eyes went wide at her statement, and I shouted, "What? How? When?"

At this, Alice started to guffaw, choking out through her laughter, "Your face! Fuck, the expression on your face!"

I scowled at her, waiting for her to continue. Still laughing, she wheezed out, "Bella, if you don't want people to know whom you're talking to, don't leave your phone lying around for anyone to pick it up."

The scowl on my face deepened, as I crossed my arms and glared at her, "My phone is password protected."

She raised one eyebrow and gave me a condescending look, "Using 1234 as the code doesn't exactly make your phone _password protected_."

I gave her a scathing look, before sitting back down and questioning her, "Since when do you know? And why didn't you say something?"

Alice turned towards me on the sofa and pulled her dainty feet under her, as she replied, "Well, my first clue was your wall paper about the "girl-next-door". I googled that shit and didn't find _any_ quote matching the one you have as your wallpaper. And then, imagine my surprise, when not two days later, my brother gives an interview mentioning some shit about a girl-next-door."

I rolled my eyes and said mockingly, "Nice work, Sherlock."

"Thank you, Bella," Alice sneered. "Remember, that shoot we did for the first look of products, with the packaging and all?

I nodded at her not saying anything, but silently motioning her to continue.

"Well," she said, "I wasn't snooping or anything, and your phone was just lying here. Anyway, you received a text notification from someone named Edward. I didn't really think anything of it, since, you know, there are lots of Edwards in this world, but what surprised me was- you know the preview of the message you get in the notification bar?"

I nodded at her, understanding what she meant. She was talking about the first few words of the message, which were displayed on the lock screen, so the receiver could get an idea what the message was about.

She continued, "Well, it mentioned my name. It said something on the lines of 'Alice looks like she is….' I got curious, and since it was about me, I opened the text."

She looked at me, raising one perfectly sculpted eyebrow, as if daring me to chastise her for getting curious.

When I didn't say anything, she continued, "Imagine what I found when I opened the text, but, you sending a photo of me, admittedly an amazing photo, to someone who had the same name as my brother. On top of that, this Edward had replied saying something like 'Alice looks like she's working really hard. I should call her and ask her to take it easy.'"

I looked bewildered at Alice. I knew which text message she was talking about. I had sent Edward a black and white profile shot of Alice, where her hair was pulled to one side, as she bent over her desk, pointing to something on the laptop. The window wall of her office was falling behind her, bathing her in light, and she looked ethereal.

"I mean, why would you send my photo to someone random, who not only had the same name as my brother but also spoke as though he knew me personally? So I checked his contact, and surprise, surprise, it was actually my brother's number."

Alice gave me smug smile, as though she had solved one of the greater mysteries of life. I just shook my head at her, amused at her tactics, a little annoyed at her privacy invasion, but mostly relieved that she wasn't pissed in the least. I also silently vowed to never leave my phone lying around anymore.

"But, why didn't you say anything to me?" I asked her impatiently.

"Bella," she started softly, shifting slightly and taking my hand in hers. "It wasn't my place to say anything. I knew you and Edward would tell me whenever you guys were ready. Contrary to the popular belief, I do know how to give someone space, and not be all up in their personal business. Obviously, you weren't ready to share whatever you and Edward have going on, and I respect that."

I hugged her hard, before she realized what was happening. For the first time, in a very long time, I felt like I had a real friend.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey guys, hope you enjoyed that chapter. Leave a review if you did

Don't forget to check out the Instagram page _**throughthelensfanfiction**_ to see what photo Alice was talking about.

Missing _**twificoholics.**_

Lots of love.


	6. Chapter 6-First call

**Beta'd by** _ **EdwardsFirstKiss**_

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

I left Alice's office, exhausted, but definitely happy from the events of the day. Alice was positively giddy about the possibility that something might happen between her brother and me, stating that it would be _fuck awesome_ if Edward and I started dating.

As I made my way home, I sent Edward a warning text that I had told Alice, just so he wasn't blindsided when he met his family for dinner. He replied with a very sarcastic,

" _ **Thanks for the two-minute warning."**_

" _ **Are you pissed, that I told her without talking to you about it first?"**_

I bit my lip as I waited for his reply. Maybe, I shouldn't have been so hasty in informing Alice about Edward. Maybe, he wasn't ready to tell anyone yet, and I, had inadvertently let Alice know. I breathed out a sigh of relief, when I read his reply,

" _ **God, no, I'm glad you did. Why did you think I would be pissed?"**_

" _ **I don't know? I mean, I told her without talking to you first, so I thought, maybe you might get pissed or something."**_

I sent that text, before typing out another, my fingers flying across the keyboard of the phone, trying to keep up with what my brain wanted to say,

" _ **I mean, it's just, she's kind of my employer. I mean, not my employer, but I have gotten all these opportunities because of her. Hell, you messaged me the first time because of her. And more that that, she's my friend, like my only friend in LA. I felt like, not telling her, I was betraying her or something. I mean, if the situation were reversed, I would definitely want to know if someone was dating my brother, let alone, my twin and that too not just someone, but someone I work with?"**_

I sent that before cursing at myself on seeing the length of the text.

" _ **Sorry about the long message. But you get what I'm trying to say, right?"**_

I prayed to the Almighty above that he wouldn't change his mind about calling me tonight, seeing what a psycho I was. He replied after a couple of minutes, but it felt like ages.

" _ **Will you chill? I understand why you had to tell her, and I'm not mad, okay?"**_

I let out a deep breath I didn't realize I was holding as I read his message. He sent another text,

" _ **I'm actually glad you told her. It definitely saved me the trouble. And now, I can tell my family about you."**_

* * *

I sat on the couch in my apartment; eating dinner and watching Ted get turned down by Robin yet again, on TV.

Edward was supposed to call in about half an hour, and to say I was nervous would be a gross understatement. I kept giving side-glances to my phone, to ensure it hadn't lit up with a call. Different scenarios filled my head, as I imagined what my talk with Edward would be like- ranging from him hanging up, because my voice was horrible, to missing his call because the phone's ringer was turned off. I may or may not have turned the phone volume on full, just so the latter of my scenarios didn't happen.

After his last text, I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that he wanted to tell his family about me. We had only been speaking, and I use the term 'speaking' loosely, for less than two weeks. I had told Alice because she was the mutual link between us, and she had a right to know. But involving the parents, telling them about someone was serious. It meant that that someone was important. It meant that you saw a future with that someone. Isn't _a week and a half too less a time to involve the parents, or is that just me?_

I spoke to Charlie at least once, or maybe twice a week, but our conversations were usually limited to "Are you being safe" and "Anything new"? But that was okay with me. Charlie wasn't the type to express his emotions freely, but I knew he loved me more than anything else. He had been the best possible single dad, raising a daughter alone.

When I had gotten my period, he hadn't freaked out and tried to shove the responsibility on to the closest adult female he could find. Instead, he had taken me to the local clinic, so the nurse could show me how to use a pad properly. Afterwards, he had taken me to buy the necessary items, even buying my weight's worth in chocolate and candy, because he thought his daughter deserved to be pampered during that time of the month.

When I was in the ninth grade, Liam, a boy from my school, had grabbed me and kissed me, on a dare, in front of the entire school. Later that day, when Charlie came to know about the incident, he had taught me how to punch. When I was suspended the next day, for punching Liam, he had reamed the principal, for allowing sexual harassment of his daughter on school property. Needless to say, the Chief got his way, and Liam ended up being the one suspended, instead of me.

When he started to become interested in Sue, he had asked me first, before asking her on a date, just to make sure I was okay with it. When I was going to college, he had taught me how to defend myself. On the day I was leaving, I could swear, he had tears in his eyes, although he just grunted and patted me on the back.

Yes, I loved my dad, which is why I didn't want to mention Edward right now. As great as things were between us, what would I tell Charlie? That I had spoke to a movie star online and now we were talking on the phone? It sounded ridiculous even in my head.

My phone rang loudly, breaking me out of my reverie, as I realized that it was Edward calling. I could feel my heart beating rapidly, as I swiped my shaky thumb over the phone, to pick up the call. I was silent for a second, before I spoke in a quivering voice, "Hello?"

At first he didn't say anything, but I could hear his breathing. This was really overwhelming. I closed my eyes as tears stung my eyes. I focused on the loud thumps of my heart and his breathing on the other side of the phone.

"Isabella?" a soft, velvety voice answered on the phone. I gasped when I heard that voice, the voice, which up until now I had only heard in movies or in interviews. On the phone, that voice sounded much richer, deeper, and unbelievably _sexy._

"Hi" I replied simply, not knowing what else to say. _He's going to think I'm a fucking moron._

He answered softly from the other side, "Hi."

We were quiet for a minute, just listening to each other breath on the phone.

I asked softly, "How are you?"

This time, he laughed lightly, his wonderful laugh breaking the tension of the phone call, "I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm also good." I replied, smiling softly. "How was your dinner?"

"It was something," he chuckled through the phone. "I had barely stepped inside, when Alice jumped all over me."

I laughed softly at that, "Yeah, sorry, I should have warned you earlier that I was going to tell her about us today."

"I didn't mind. I'm glad you told her."

"Yeah?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah."

We were quiet for a couple of seconds, and I worried that we were like those people, who were comfortable talking on text, but on the phone, we were awkward. He spoke again,

"You know, I'm really glad to finally talk to you. I've wanted to do it for a while now. It's nice to have a voice to go with that beautiful face of yours."

I blushed at his words. "And what do you think? Does the voice match the face?"

"Perfectly. I don't think I've ever heard a more melodic voice."

I laughed at his words, "Melodic? Really? I don't think I've ever heard anyone use that word, to describe my voice before."

He also laughed lightly, that beautiful, sensual laugh. "Well, melodic, and sexy. Exceptionally sexy."

I inhaled sharply at his words, feeling a little tingle down below. _His words alone are going to kill me._

I cleared my throat, before changing the subject, "Well, I'm glad to finally talk to you, too. Although, you did just come back to the same time zone as me."

He laughed, "I did, but I have to say, the time zones are still a little mixed up in my head. I slept for almost half the day and I still feel like I could sleep for at least twelve more hours."

I laughed at the whining tone of his voice. "You know if you want, we can hang up now, and you can go to sleep."

"No chance, Bella, I just got to hear your beautiful voice, I'm not hanging up. You're going to be cursing yourself by the end, as to why you agreed to talk to me on the phone."

I whimpered a little at his statement, feeling my heart give a little flutter. "Doubtful," I said in a commanding tone. I knew I was always going to want to talk to him.

I continued, "And who describes someone's voice as melodic?"

"Well, it is," he said, from the other side. "Your voice is melodic, and I wouldn't mind hearing it all the time."

I laughed at his antics. He blistered from the other side, "Fine, don't believe me. How would you describe my voice?"

"Erotic," I said, without thinking. The moment I said it, I felt my face heating up, and I wished I had an unsend button on my mouth, like Instagram, to take those words back.

Edward cleared his throat from the other side, and said, "Well, that's one way to describe it. And I'm glad that at least my voice isn't unpleasant."

I chuckled, happy that he hadn't made it embarrassing for me. "No, not unpleasant at all. Anyway, you didn't tell me, how was your dinner? Other that the part in which Alice pounced on you."

"It was good. I mean I missed them, you know? It's difficult to be away from everyone and everything for such long periods of time, so every time I see them, I feel very blessed."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," I say, thinking about my dad back home.

"You miss your dad?" Edward asked in a sweet voice from the other side of the phone.

"All the time."

"What do you miss about him?"

I smile as I think about my dad. "I don't know. I miss the way he pulls at his mustache hair when he's watching games. I miss the way he tears the napkins to pieces whenever we dine out. I miss the way he peels the labels off beer bottles. Small things I guess."

"Small things matter the most."

"Yeah. Tell me about your family," I say, breaking out of the nostalgic haze I was in.

He chuckled softly through the phone, "My family is absolutely crazy. Emmett was such a rambunctious boy that all my mom wanted after him, was a sweet girl who would have tea parties and play with dolls. Instead she got another boy and Alice."

I laughed at his statement, imagining what kinds of trouble these three siblings had gotten into. "I'm guessing Alice didn't really have tea parties and play with dolls?"

He laughed, loudly, "No way! She was so bad. She was the only girl, and she had dad wrapped around her pinky, so he never said anything to her, ever. And she definitely took advantage of that. She would play all sorts of pranks on Emmett and me, and get away with it."

"Really? What kind of pranks?" I ask, feeling thirsty to know more about him.

"Well, once, she mixed blue dye in Emmett's body wash, so his skin was Smurf blue for an entire week. And then, she wanted to color her hair black, so she mixed bleach in with her shampoo, and blamed Emmett, saying it was his revenge for making his skin blue."

"No!" I gasped, shocked that any child would actually do these kinds of things. "Your parents actually believed her?"

"At first, yes. She only told the truth after seeing how bad things were going to be for Emmett. Anyway, the damage was done, so mom finally let her dye her hair black."

"Wow," I exclaimed. "And what about little Edward? Where was he doing during all these pranks?"

"I don't know. I guess, I was the one reading books, with my huge glasses on."

My heart melted at the thought of a little bronze haired child, pushing up big round glasses on his nose and reading a book.

"So your mom got her sweet child after all?"

He laughed, "Yes, not too sweet, though, I guess. I always knew what Emmett and Alice were up to, but I never told on them, nor did I stop them from getting into trouble. I just liked to enjoy the chaos from afar."

I chuckle softly. "Aw, so you were the best brother and the best son. Such a cutie."

"A cutie? Really? A whole list, containing thousands of adjectives in the English language, and you describe me as a cutie? Thanks for the boost in my man pride," he huffed from the other side.

I laughed out, before pacifying him, "What adjective would you use to describe yourself then?"

"How about handsome? Macho? Good looking? Fetching?"

"Fetching?" I laughed. "Very British of you."

"Okay," he said from the other side of the phone. "How about attractive? Sexy?" His voice dropped a level, as he said the last word.

This time, I couldn't keep my moan in. "Yeah, sexy, I would go with sexy."

Edward was quiet for a second, before he cleared his throat from the other side, and said, "Anyway."

I almost protested at the change of subject, but decided it was for the best. It wouldn't be appropriate to let him know what a hussy I was, this early on.

"So basically, you and your siblings were the children from hell?"

He snickered, and said, "I guess."

"I really would have liked to have had a sibling. Although, I do kind of have a step brother and a step sister."

"Kind of?" Edward questioned.

"Well, remember how I told you about my dad dating a woman named Sue?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, she has two kids, Leah and Seth. And our parents have been together for a long time now. They're living together, although they never admit to it." I laugh, thinking about how dad and Sue adamantly deny their living situation. "Anyway, I always kind of considered her to be my mom."

"They all sound wonderful."

I smile at his words, and say, "They are. I really miss them."

"Why did you move so far away from home?"

"I don't know. As much as I love both them and Forks, it wasn't meant for me, I guess. I wanted something bigger. I wanted to see the world." I sigh out, thinking about the dreams I had.

"And living in LA, do you get to do that?"

"Well, not exactly." I said, frowning a little.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm not exactly seeing the world, am I?"

Edward was quiet for a moment, before he asked, "Well, why aren't you, then?"

"I don't know," I say, the words rushing out of my mouth, before I can stop them, "I thought about working with a travel blog or a travel channel, or something like that. But, they take all the fun out of the experience. So I decided to just save up some money, and earn some recognition for my work before going to see what the world has to offer. And then, my pictures will be showcased in galleries. Can you imagine? I would take pictures of Santorini, or Florence, or even Saint Petersburg."

"Wow," Edward exclaimed from the other side.

"Yeah, silly, I guess," I say softly, shaking my head to clear the dreams that seemed too impossible to come true.

"No, Bella. It's not silly at all. You can see the world with me."

The breath whooshed out of me at his words. A little overwhelmed, the words came out before I could stop them.

"What are we doing Edward?"

"What do you mean?" He replied in a questioning tone.

"I mean," I huff, irritably, "you keep saying things like that, and I don't know how to take them."

"Things like what?"

 _Did he really not understand what he just said or was he simply acting stupid?_

"Things like wanting to tell your parents about me, or things like how you want to go to Forks with me, or things like travelling the world with you."

"And you don't like these things?" He asked, softly, his voice barely conveying any of the confusion I was feeling.

"I don't know what they mean," I cried, "to like them or not to like them. We've barely known each other for a week, we've never met, and this is the first time we've ever even spoken on the phone."

"I don't understand. So what's the problem?"

I reply exasperatedly, barely able to control my voice, "The problem, is that we shouldn't be talking about all of this, so soon. We should be talking about things like, I like that movie, or yeah man, that song is cool. Not about all of this."

"You think all this is too soon, Bella?" He asked, his voice still soft.

"Yes." I cry out.

"Well, I don't." His words come out, suddenly impatient, "we can talk about, as you said, about how cool a song or a movie is, but, I mean, what's the point? We both know that's just delaying the inevitable. I'm not saying I want to meet your dad soon, or have you meet my parents tomorrow, but I know eventually it will happen, so I don't want to pretend as if it's not. It's not a question of if; it's a question of when. Is that what you want, to pretend as if we don't feel what's between us?"

"No." I say in a small voice. That's not what I wanted.

"Exactly. We both feel so much, Bella. It's illogical, unexplainable, but it is the way it is."

I could hear loud breathing on the phone as if he were panting to get it all out. "I read a quote once, and I know it's going to sound too Tumblr or whatever. But, it said that our souls are tied to someone else's with invisible threads. That's why, sometimes, we feel an unexplainable sadness wash over us, or sometimes we feel so giddy, for no reason. It's because that's what the other part of our soul is feeling. The threads just keep tugging at each other, sometimes meeting, sometimes not. Either way, the souls recognize each other. That's what I feel Bella. I feel as if my soul recognizes yours, that my soul is tied to yours with those threads."

I could feel the tears slowly make their way down my cheeks as I heard what he said. Isn't this exactly what I had thought when he had messaged me? That my reality was connected to his virtual side by one of these threads? That with each second, the thread was becoming clearer? _God help me, but I think, I think,_ _we were going to be okay._

"God, you're going to kill me, Edward." I say, laughing through my tears.

"Nah, baby," he replies, "I'm going to make you finally live."

* * *

Hi, hope you're having a wonderful day wherever you're reading this.

I want to apologize for the delay in uploading, but rest assured, there will be regular updates from now on. In fact, I may start posting twice a week or so, if you guys would like that.

I would like to thank _**EdwardsFirstKiss**_ from the bottom of my heart who edited this chapter. I feel so honored that someone as good as her agreed to edit the complete mess I write.

Follow the Instagram page _**Throughthelensfanfiction**_ for story updates and pictures.

Missing _**Twificoholics.**_

Lots of love.


	7. Chapter 7-First plans

**Chapter 7**

I woke up the next day, with a huge smile on my face. It was like one of those scenes from the movies, where a really beautiful woman wakes up, all happy, looking perfect, with the sun streaming on her face, as she stretched slowly. That's how I felt this morning. I had a whole new level of appreciation for things I had never really seen before. I could see the small particles of dust floating up in the air, looking beautiful, from where the sun streamed in from between the flimsy curtains. I could see the pages of my notebook, where I write all my pending tasks, flickering from the slight wind.

I finally felt like my life in LA was coming together, that the decision I had made to leave everything and everyone I knew and come here was the right one.

Growing up, I had always been content. I had a normal childhood, wanted for nothing, but I was never truly happy. I always felt there was something missing. I know it was probably cliché of me to say that Edward was the missing part, especially this early, but it felt like it.

I was no stranger to boys, having had my share of both, long-term relationships and casual dating, but never before, had I felt this intensely for anyone.

In school, I dated a boy named Mike, for about three months before we both realized we were better off as friends. He moved on to date a girl named Jessica, and I, moved on to Jacob. Jacob was the son of my dad's best friend, and we had literally been together all of our childhood lives. He was a year younger to me, but sure acted like he was at least ten years my elder. Jacob was my sun, always making me smile. Being with him was effortless, like breathing.

Being young, and thinking there is no harm in giving it a chance, specially when that is what both of our dads wanted, I started dating him. It was nice, sweet and we were happy for some time. I knew I loved him, but it felt more like loving a brother, than a boyfriend. When he kissed me, I never felt an ounce of passion. Instead, I mostly waited for him to get tired and end the kiss. When he wanted to feel my boobs, I let him, and honestly, I got more turned on by my gynecologist that by Jacob.

When I had applied to colleges out of state, Jake had gotten really mad. He had somehow come to the notion that since we were dating, I would stay in Forks. Jake didn't understand why I had to go to college. He thought all you needed to be a photographer was a camera, and anybody could click pictures, from anywhere. He didn't understand the point of spending thousands of dollars just to learn how to click a button.

And truthfully, I couldn't blame him for not understanding. So many people that I've met in my life, don't understand the concept of going to college for arts of any type. So when my acceptance letter from NYU had come, and he didn't understand my need to go there, that's when I knew for sure that we could never work out.

I left for New York soon, and every time I returned to Forks, he was there, lurking around in the background. I think, he still thought somewhere in his mind, that we would end up together, so I always kept my distance, making sure that I was never alone with him.

In college, I met a few guys, going on a couple of casual dates, before I met Garrett. He was truly the first one that I tried to make it work with. I lost my virginity to him, and we were together for almost two years, even ending up living together. By the end of the relationship, we had become more like roommates sharing an apartment, than someone who were in a relationship. Our break up was mutual, both of us ending things on good terms. In fact, we ended up sharing the flat for the remainder of our time in college, only living in separate bedrooms instead of sharing one. He eventually moved on to his present girlfriend, Kate, and I, to guys who didn't last more than three dates.

Like I said, my life had been content, nothing truly bad or sad had happened to me that would irreversibly change me. But that was it, I didn't want content, I wanted crazy passionate. I wanted to be so happy that it would feel like my heart would burst. I wanted to cry till I had no more tears left. I wanted to be so crazily in love with someone, that he was always there, in the back of my mind, no matter what I was doing. I wanted to be loved by someone so irrevocably, that he got under my skin, and I could feel him in my bones. I wanted love, lust, passion, crazy, drama and everything else in between with that someone.

I guess that's why I liked being a photographer so much. When I put the camera to my face and saw the world through the lens, everything would change. The colors seemed brighter and the world seemed happier.

When I spoke to Edward (and I mean any form of communication), I often forgot he was a world famous person. When we spoke, he was just that, my Edward. The amount of passion I had felt for him in the past few days was unbelievable. Imagining that we hadn't even met yet, or the fact that we hadn't even touched yet, seemed crazy.

Last night, in one phone call, Edward understood me better than anyone ever has. He understood my need for clicking photos, my want of travelling the world and my lust for _finally living._

We ended up speaking for hours last night, only hanging up when neither of us could hold our yawns in any longer. He was that person for me, to whom I could talk to for hours, and yet, never run out of things to say.

But could I even _be_ in a relationship with Edward? He was famous, like crazy famous, the kind of famous that made it impossible for him to step out of his house without at least a dozen paparazzi following him, for something as simple as grabbing a cup of coffee. There was news about him everyday in the newspaper, about how he was dating a supermodel, or how he cheated on that supermodel with another actress, and was now on a vacation with a pop star to get over that actress. Yes, I understood that a lot of this was bullshit, but could I deal with all of this?

We could date in private, not telling anyone about our relationship, but what would that lead to? Would he go to award shows and functions with a different woman every time, while I watched him on TV? And if we did go public, then what? Was I ready to deal with the drama of the media? Just the simple act of Edward following me on Instagram, had created such frenzy, that I had gained almost twenty thousand followers in less than an hour. If I came out as his girlfriend, I was sure to be eaten alive. There would be rumors printed about me, about how I was the gold digging whore, the fame hungry bitch, responsible for his break up with some or the other actress. I was sure my dad would be probed; the people I grew up would be harassed. Was all of this worth it?

 _Yes,_ _because, Edward was worth it_.

If I would get that lovely man in return, the one who sent me dumb, dorky jokes, the one who didn't question me for my irrational possessiveness, the one who got agitated just because I replied to his message one minute too late, then I would be willing to give everything up for that man. I could deal with anything, as long as I had Edward with me.

* * *

I was at the grocery store, staring the display of tomatoes distastefully, trying to decide which ones were the ripest, when my phone dinged with an incoming text from Edward,

" _ **What are you up to?"**_

I looked at my phone, abandoning my effort to make up for slacking so much in the past few days. I had hardly had any home cooked meal, and my fridge now only had a case of spoilt milk, few rotten fruits, and a bottle of expired mayonnaise.

I texted him before going back to my tomato selection,

" _ **Trying to decide if I should be healthy and buy tomatoes, or fuck it and just go with pizza. You?"**_

For good measure, I also opened my Snapchat, and sent him a snap of my disgruntled face next to the tomatoes. Yes, Edward had asked me for my Snapchat handle that morning. Apparently, Edward was on Snapchat, which surprisingly, I didn't know about it. It was a "fad", as he put it, where all celebrities were taking to the app to connect with their audiences more, no doubt inspired by the Kardashians. But now, he added me because he wanted to use Snapchat for "the purpose it was meant for". He ultimately decided to wait a little to use the app in that sense, but it didn't stop him from snapping me things around him, including his beautiful face, and forcing me in return to snap him back.

I smiled at the screen of my phone when I saw he was calling me.

"What have the tomatoes done to you? They look so scrumptious," he said by way of greeting.

I laughed at his statement, and said, "Hi to you as well."

"Hi," he replied sweetly. Even after talking to him for most part of last night, his voice still did things to me. I don't think I will ever get over his velvety voice.

"I hope you're being nice to the tomatoes," his voice said from the other side of the phone.

"I'm being nice to them, but they're being difficult. All of them are so red. How should I decide which one to buy and which one to leave?" I asked indigently.

He chuckled from the other end, and said, "Well, did you try asking them nicely?"

I huffed and replied, "I'm nice to everyone. Even if they're irritating as fuck."

"You're a sweetie," he said with a smile in his voice.

"Don't you forget it," I replied. Deciding to move on from the tomatoes, I asked him, "So, what are you up to?"

"Nothing, just missing you."

"You're so cheesy," I laughed at him. I added humorously, "If I continue my association with you, I will definitely grow fat from all this cheesiness, and apparently, being fat is a crime in LA."

Edward snorted, "Don't worry, you can borrow my personal trainer."

"Will I have to do lunges?"

"Maybe."

I huffed and said, "No thanks then, you keep your personal trainer. I'll just avoid taking a bite out of you."

"You can bite me anytime you want," Edward said, his tone husky, making me inhale sharply as I felt a little tingle in my fingers.

Clearing my throat, I said, "Anyway."

Edward laughed out. My embarrassment was apparently a source of humor for him.

"You're so cute," he said into the phone. He added, "Anyway, I do have a reason to call you."

"I knew it," I said triumphantly, "Gone are the times when someone called another just for the sake of it."

"Are you done?" Edward asked exasperatedly. "Can I continue?"

I chuckled, "Yes, please."

"So," he said. I waited for him to continue, not interrupting. "I want to meet you."

I stood still in the grocery aisle, as my heart beat a tattoo in my chest.

"Me-," I croaked. Clearing my throat quietly, I said, "Meet me?"

"Yes," he replied. "I mean before Alice's party. I don't want to meet you for the first time in front of ten thousand people."

I rolled my eyes at that. There were hardly going to be twenty- five people at Alice's pre-launch party, which this man had exaggerated into ten thousand people. But I could also understand where he came from. When I met him for the first time, I wanted it to be private, a moment only we would witness, only we would share.

"Bella?" his voice came from the phone, breaking me out of my reverie.

"Yeah, sorry," I said quickly. "Are you sure we're ready to meet?"

"Well, I don't see why not," he said slowly, as if trying to gage my reaction over the phone. "It's not like a blind date, where you don't know who I am, and we only text each other every available minute of the day."

He did have a point. We already knew each other, and it wasn't as if it was unsafe to meet him. Plus, we would anyway be meeting in three days time, at Alice's pre-launch party. And like he said, even I wanted out first meeting to be private, and not witnessed by other people.

"Where?" I asked him quietly.

His reply was quick this time, "My house, dinner tomorrow, 6 sharp."

 _That's good_ , I thought. I was definitely not calling him to my place. There was hardly enough space for me walk around, let alone two people. Plus, meeting in a restaurant or somewhere else, undeniably spoiled the idea, of not meeting for the first time in front of people. So his house, it was.

"Six in the morning?" I asked him.

He huffed into the phone, "You're being difficult on purpose."

I smiled a little. I loved troubling him. "Okay, okay, sorry. Tomorrow is fine."

I couldn't figure out if I my heart was beating so loudly due to the nerves or because of the excitement.

"So, tomorrow night, six o clock, right?" He confirmed on the phone.

I had to stop myself from screaming in excitement, instead saying as calmly as I could, "Yup, six on the dot."

"I'll send a car for you."

I furrowed my brows at that, "For me to what?"

"To pick you up, Bella. I'll send a car to pick you up." He clarified, his tone exasperated.

"You can go fuck your car, Edward. I don't need it," I said, in a cold voice. I didn't need his car. I could manage on my own, and I definitely hated when someone _assumed_ my needs, without me mentioning them.

He chuckled lowly, almost menacingly, "I would definitely like to fuck _you_ in my car."

Yes, I had moaned at that forgetting my irritation for a moment, and that bastard definitely heard it. Ignoring my embarrassing moan, he continued, "I know you don't need it, but it's necessary right now."

I started to speak, but he rushed to get the words out before me.

"Listen to me, Bella, right now my house is surrounded by the paparazzi. It's usually like this when I come home after a long time." Edward said. "My car has tinted windows, so no one would be able to see who is inside the car. When the car leaves my house, I'll make sure that I'm spotted inside the house, so the press doesn't follow the car."

He continued without waiting for me answer, "If you get your car, the press wouldn't take two seconds to figure out whom it belongs to. And afterwards, they would just keep waiting to see what time you left."

I made a sour face at that, which he wasn't able to see through the phone. I grudgingly admitted, what he said made sense. That was when I learnt that I hated it when he was right.

"And I definitely plan to keep you all night long, Bella," Edward breathed, his voice low and husky.

I moaned again, at the last part. Yeah, he was definitely getting under my skin and I was beginning to feel him in my bones.

I breathed into the phone, "Okay, tomorrow, your house, 6."

* * *

 **A/N:**

Hi everyone,

No excuses, only that I'm sorry.

Follow the Instagram page _**Throughthelensfanfiction**_ for story updates and pictures.

A million thanks to _**Twificoholics,**_ for putting up with my shit.

Lots of love.


	8. Chapter 8-First meeting

**Chapter 8**

I stood in front of the mirror in my room, staring critically at myself. I had pretty skin, almost translucent, but I was too pale. Even after being in LA for two years now, I had hardly gotten any color on my skin. I had full, pouty lips, my upper lip a little fuller than my lower one, and my lower one bruised and battered by the constant biting of my teeth. My eyebrows were a little wonky. I didn't wear a lot of makeup, just eye and lip stuff- the basics. But that is what I was, basic, the girl next door.

 _The best one_ , according to Edward.

I was wearing my white skinny jeans, the one that hugged me in all the right places, pairing that with a peach, off- shoulder top. A pair of peachy beige sandals, whose straps crisscrossed around my ankle and a wine colored sling bag later, I was ready to go.

Just in time too, because at that moment, the buzzer for my apartment rang, and I rushed to it. A deep voice on the other end said, "Ms. Swan, I'm here to collect you."

Rolling my eyes at the _collecting_ part, I quickly said into the speaker, "I'll be right down."

Making sure I had everything I needed, mainly my wallet and phone, I hurried down the steps of my apartment building. According to Edward, there would be a black sedan and _Peter_ to pick me up.

There, in front of my apartment building, was a black car, the kind that was sleek and long, and looked more like Batmobile instead of a sedan. A huge guy, dressed in black suit and white shirt, with a wire in his ears, stood, holding the door to the back seat open for me. I assumed he was Peter.

I stared at him, maybe for too long, because he inclined his head at me, and said, "Ms. Swan."

I had only seen such things on the TV. I didn't know that this happened in real life as well. "Yeah, hi, sorry," I fumbled with my words. I'm sure he thought I was an idiot.

I slid into the back seat of the car, and took in the luxurious, tan colored interiors of the car. Peter, the man, who had opened the car door for me, quickly went to the driver seat. A little too quick, if you ask me. One second, he was closing the door of the back seat, and the next, he was in the driver's seat, pulling the car out onto the street.

I cleared my throat, not sure what the protocol was. Do I ignore him? Do I talk to him? I was feeling more and more awkward.

Clearing my throat, I said, "So, I'm Bella." _Fuck, I'm a spaz._

"Peter", he said, not saying anything further.

I stared at him for a couple of seconds, before trying again, "So, you work with Edward?"

"I work _for_ Mr. Cullen, yes ma'am," he said, his tone making it more that clear that he didn't want to talk to me. I sighed and turned my head to look out the window.

And of course, this was the moment my body made sure to start feeling cold. The air conditioner was on full blast, and directly aimed at me. I wanted to ask him to turn the air down, but I didn't know if I could do that.

 _Fuck him, I'm not asking him to turn the air down._

I'll just suffer in silence, die from hypothermia, and maybe that'll teach him a lesson in manners.

He looked at me in his rear view mirror, and said, "Do you mind if I turn the AC down? I'm a little cold."

I stared at him. I was pretty sure he wasn't cold in his black suit, but I nodded and smiled at him gratefully, "Yes, thank you."

 _Maybe he wasn't so bad after all._

I stared as the city rushed by outside. We had been driving for around thirty minutes, before we entered into a street where all the houses were huge, more like bungalows, with sprawling lawns, fountains and what not. It looked like one of those areas where movie stars would live. I laughed out loud, almost, as soon as I had that thought. Edward _was_ a movie star.

"Ms. Swan," Peter said, "We're about to reach Mr. Cullen's house. When we reach there, there will be some people who will run behind the car, and knock on your window. The panes are tinted, so they will not be able to see anything. Please stay calm, don't roll down the windows, or talk to them. Do you understand?" He was looking at me expectantly, raising his eyebrows at me in the rear view mirror.

I gulped loudly, nodding at him.

Edward had told me all of this; he had made sure I would know there would be people outside his house, and that I needn't worry. But I wasn't ready for this. For fuck's sake, I was just meeting Edward for the first time, and here was his driver, telling me that there would be crazy people trying to knock down the windows.

Peter stopped the car in front of a huge black gate, and pressed a button in the car. Within the next second, there was a loud bang next to me, and I ducked, reflexively. I could see four or five people banging on the window, on my side of the car, and there were another three or four banging on the other side, shouting words I wasn't able to make out. My heart was pounding, and there was a faint ringing in my ears. I could feel my hands shake slightly, as I stared wide-eyed at the people surrounding the car.

Peter started driving the car slowly inside the gate, and up a gravel pathway. Behind us, I could see cameras clicking continuously, as they tried to take a last look inside before the doors shut. One blink, and the doors had shut, the camera people vanishing from sight.

Just as I turned my face to look forward again, my mouth dropped open at the sight in front of me. There, at the end of the gravel driveway, stood a huge house, beautiful, and out of this world. It had a grey and red-bricked structure, mixed in with huge white stones. There were floor-to-ceiling windows that made the house look open and airy.

Peter stopped the car in front of the main door of the house, before I was ready to get out. Closing my eyes, I took a huge, deep cleansing breath, trying to collect myself.

 _It was going to be okay,_ I thought to myself.

Steeling myself, and patting my hair down, one last time, I turned to get out of the car. Peter was already standing there, holding the door open for me. I got out and turned towards the house, my breath getting caught in my throat. There, just outside the main door, on the porch, stood Edward himself, wearing a dark blue wash jeans and a white button up shirt, with his sleeves rolled up to his arms.

He was beautiful. I had seen countless photos of him, plastered all over the Internet and newspapers, but they didn't do justice to the man that stood in front of me. He was tall, taller than I had imagined. He was on the leaner side, not bulging with muscles, although, but there was definite muscle definition. His hair was a reddish brown color, leaning towards the red, and was incredibly disheveled, as though he had just rolled out of bed. His features were angular, high cheekbones framing the face, and a long, straight nose. I saved his eyes for last. Green, like emeralds, they sparkled as they took me in, the same way that mine took him in.

His face broke into a huge smile, as he took a step towards me, and I felt myself smiling widely in response. We stood in front of each other, staring, not saying anything, and just drinking each other in hungrily. It was surreal, seeing him stand there in front of me.

 _He truly was so beautiful that even angels wanted to cry,_ I thought to myself, amusedly.

Edward took another step forward, and suddenly, I was pulled into his arms, as he hugged me, whispering, "Bella."

I hugged him back, breathing him in, taking in his scent. This moment felt like one of those, where everything is normal paced, but feels slow in your head, where you've taken in each and every detail with so much clarity. He smelled like honey, lilac, cigarettes and something that was just pure Edward. I felt him inhale my hair, and I smiled a little. He pulled away, much too soon for my liking.

"Hi", I said, like an idiot, staring up at him.

He chuckled softly, and replied back, "Hi." _Guess he was an idiot too._

He kissed me one the cheek softly, before taking my hand, and pulling me into his house. I was once again awed at the beauty I saw in front of me. His house had a warm and cozy feel, yet was so aesthetically beautiful, it was impossible to describe.

"Wow," I whispered, as I took in the huge room we had just entered. It had high ceiling, with lights hanging down from it. The room was decorated in earthy and grey tones. One of the walls was complete window, and we could look out at beautiful landscaped garden.

Edward chuckled at my expression, and said, "Thanks, though I didn't really do anything. This is all my mom."

"Well, its beautiful." I said turning to face him.

He was still holding my hand, as he looked at me intensely.

"What?" I asked, tucking my hair behind my ear, feeling self-conscious from his constant staring.

"You're beautiful, Bella." He said, and raised our joined hands to his lips.

My breath got caught in my throat, as he kissed the inner side of my wrist, lingering there for a moment. Dropping our hands, he motioned me to sit, and asked, "Can I offer you anything to drink?"

I smiled at him, and said, "Wine?"

He nodded, saying, "Make your self comfortable. I'll be right back."

I loomed around the room. I wasn't lying to him when I had said it was a beautiful room. It was the complete opposite of the hole in the wall that I lived in. Everything was so open, and airy. Walking up to the mantel below the TV, I saw the photographs that were lined there. The first photograph was of his entire family, including Jasper and Rosalie. I assumed the photo was of Emmett's wedding day since Rosalie was in a beautiful white gown. His entire family was beautiful, too perfect looking. I imagined what I would look like next to these overly beautiful and gorgeous people. The next photo was of Edward with parents, a photo of Edward and Alice, and of Edward and Emmett. He truly loved his family beyond anything in this world.

"Here," I turned around, as Edward walked in, carrying two glasses of wine in his hand. Handing one to me, he came to stand next to me, and said, "Dinner is almost ready."

"Did you cook?"

He laughed, "No way. I burn water. Charlotte, my housekeeper, she cooks for me,"

"Oh." I said dumbly, not knowing what else to say. This was the world of rich people, with drivers and housekeepers, miles away from mine.

We moved to the backyard, which had a fire pit. It was surrounded by fairy lights, and a table for two was set outside.

"This is so pretty," I said softly, not wanting to break the calm of the environment.

Edward smiled at me and said, "I think you're pretty. So much so, all this pales in your comparison."

I blushed, and I looked down, trying to hide the redness of my face. Edward moved closer, running a finger down my cheek, he said, "See? Beautiful."

He kissed me on my reddened cheek, before pulling me to sit at the table.

Just as we sat down, a woman, whom I assumed was Charlotte, came in with two dishes in her hand. She placed one each in front of us. She smiled at me and said, "I'll be back in a few minutes with the main course."

Smiling at her, I picked up my fork and took a bite of the deliciousness that she had called chicken. I moaned slightly at the flavor that burst in my mouth.

I took another bite of it, unable to get over how tasty it was. Glancing up at Edward, I saw he wasn't eating anything, but was staring at me. Putting down my fork, I put my napkin to my face, feeling self-conscious once again.

"What?" I asked, disconcerted. "Do I have the sauce or something smeared on my face?"

"No, you just looked like you really enjoyed it," Edward said with a chuckle. It was the most beautiful sound I had heard in my life.

I blushed, as I put my napkin down. "Well," I said, "I think you're immune to her cooking by now. As a first timer, I can assure you, this is better than anything you get in the finest restaurants."

He smiled widely, "No, I'm not immune. I've just neglected to appreciate it."

I shook my head, despondently. Picking up my fork again, and waving it at him, I said, "That's a shame. Maybe I should take Charlotte home with me, since I know I will appreciate her."

Charlotte returned at that moment with the main course in her hand. Placing that in front of us, she said, "Well, I would love to come with you Bella, but who will take care of Edward then?"

I grinned cheekily, and said, "I'm sure he can manage."

Charlotte laughed, and said, "Maybe you can stay here, and help me in taking care of him."

Laughing still, she went away with the previous dishes in her hand.

I stared after her a little taken aback. Edward was still chuckling, "That's not a bad idea."

I cleared my throat, not sure how to respond to that. Choosing to ignore it, I decided to focus on the meal in front of me.

"What?" Edward asked suddenly, sounding aggravated.

I looked up at him, "What, what?"

"Why did you go quite all of a sudden?" He asked, sounding crossed.

"I didn't," I replied pointedly.

"You did," he huffed. "Are you feeling awkward with me, here?"

Deciding to be truthful, I said softly, "A little."

"Why?" He demanded.

The way he asked me that _why,_ I burst out, unable to keep my feeling in any longer. "Why? Edward, be real. Your world and my world are completely different. Look at all of this."

"All of what?" He asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"This Edward," I cried. "You have drivers, and housekeepers. I, on the other hand, can barely afford my rent. You're this crazy famous, rich person. There are ten people banging on your car every time it exits or enters your house. The only things banging on my apartment are mice."

I continued on, unable to stop myself, "How can I fit in here? What do you see happening between us? Because I can't imagine myself in this world with you."

"But somehow, I can't imagine myself without you either," I added in a whisper.

I looked down, unable to meet his eyes. I still refused to meet his eyes, when I heard him stand up.

 _Maybe he realized I was right, and he was chucking me out._

However, he puled his chair next to mine, and grabbed my hand in both of his.

"Bella, don't let this scare you," he said softly, almost desperately. "Yes, I'm famous and rich, but I'm also a person. I'm just me, someone who happens to do something that makes him famous. My fame or money doesn't define me. I mean, I wouldn't do a movie for two years, and people will forget about me. This is all just temporary. It's just the background noise."

I looked up, and his face was set, as if determined to make me understand something difficult.

He continued, "I really like you Bella, maybe more than I should at this point. When I saw the new TheACWBeauty page, I thought the photographs were truly incredible. You are so talented. I was actually impressed and that's why I clicked on your Instagram profile. I didn't even know if you were a guy or a girl, but what pulled me in, were the shoots you did. And on your profile, I couldn't believe the photographs. I didn't know that a simple road could look that beautiful, as you made it look in the photograph you clicked."

I could feel my eyes stinging a little, and his looked a little glassy as well.

"And when I saw that photo of yours," he continued, "the one I messaged you about, I was done for. It was like fucking fireworks, Bella. You are so fucking beautiful. You can argue all day long that I work with supermodels and actresses, and supposedly the most beautiful women of the world, but Bella, believe me when I say, that none of them hold a candle to you. "

His hand came up against my cheek, as he said, "Please, please give us a chance Bella, I have never felt this way for anyone, ever. I don't know what this, or what it might be, but don't write us of before we even begin. Please." He whispered the last word, as he looked down in his lap.

I looked at him, biting my lip, and taking in what he said. No, I didn't want to write us off, not now, not ever.

My other hand, the one he wasn't holding, came up, cupping his cheek; I waited until he looked up at me. He glanced at me with those beautiful green eyes, probably wondering why I wasn't saying anything. Making sure to sound as sincere as I could, I whispered, "Okay."

He searched my eyes, maybe checking to see any signs of hesitation or maybe to see the truth, but whatever he saw, he pulled my face towards him, and his lips met mine. His lips were soft against mine, pressing against them ever so gently with his.

He pulled back a little, his eyes looking into mine, and then pulled me back with a groan. He kissed me again, his lips moving against mine, pulling my upper lip between his and sucking gently. I moaned lightly, as my tongue met with his. He tasted sweet, like honey, and I knew I was addicted to his taste. I would never be able to get enough of this. My hands went around his neck, pulling him closer to me, as his went around my waist, pulling me up to his lap. I straddled him, my knees on either side of him on the small chair, as we continued to kiss, not being able to get enough.

Edward broke away from the kiss with a gasp, as he kissed down my neck, along the line of my jaw. I moved slightly over him, and both of us groaned, as my jean-clad center met the bulge of his pants. Pulling me more fully against him, his hands went up in my hair, pulling tightly, as he brought my lips back to his. We continued like that, lips kissing frantically, hips moving to meet, trying to get closer but unable to.

Edward sucked at my neck, biting gently, making me moan loudly, and wanting more.

"Fuck, Bella," He whispered breathlessly, putting his lips back to mine.

"Edward," I groaned, moving more urgently against him, breathing in his ear and pulling his hair tightly.

Edward pushed up, as I pushed down, again and again, trying to get closer. The roughness of my jeans rubbed against my center, as he tried over and over again to push the bulge of his jeans through mine. Then I moaned, very loudly, biting his lower lip, as I saw stars behind my closed eyes, my whole body shaking in sweet release, as I felt tingles shoot up, from the roots of my hair to my toes. Edward continued to thrust against me, once, twice, thrice, before stilling and shouting out my name.

We both panted, both breathless, our foreheads against each other, as we tried to bring our heartbeats back to normal. Once we had calmed a little, we both looked at each other, before laughing softly. Yes, we had just had a grinding session, like a couple of teenagers.

Edward kissed me again, softly this time, gently rubbing his nose against mine.

Putting his forehead against mine, he said, "See what I mean? Fucking fireworks."

I sighed, completely blissed out. He was right, _fucking fireworks._

* * *

Edward and I were sitting in his living room next to each other on the couch, our feet propped up on the table in front of us. The only light came from the fireplace, which was burning softly. We were holding hands, Edward playing with my fingers, as we talked quietly. Our voices were barely over a whisper, and it felt very intimate. It was late at night, after midnight, but I did not want to go home yet, and Edward didn't seem to want to let me go home.

"Miley Cyrus?" I asked him. We were playing this game, where I asked him about the different rumors that had surrounded him.

Edward laughed softly and said, "Nah, she's great, but she's also Liams's. I never went near her."

I chuckled. "Okay, threesome between you, and the twins, Rachel and Rebecca?"

"Ew," he said, making a face. "I would have suffocated to death in between their surgically altered, overly large boobs."

I laughed at his graphical explanation. "Britney Spears in 2007?"

"Bella," He said shaking his head gravely, "I was fifteen in 2007. You really think I would shack up with her?"

"Hey I don't know about the crazies you film people get up to."

"I'll give you crazy", he said, tickling me. I shrieked, laughing, trying to move away from him, but he held on, not letting me go.

"Uncle, uncle" I shouted at the top of my lungs, and he laughed, kissing me on the lips softly, looking into my eyes and smiling. He moved away, pulling me up, so now were sitting facing each other. He pulled my feet over one of his thighs, his other leg propped up, as he supported his elbow.

"So, what about you, Ms. Photographer?" He asked, playing with my hair.

"What about me?"

"Well, don't all photographers have this thing, where they don't want to be tied down, want to be a free bird, _experimenting_. Did you experiment?"

I barked out a laugh. "Ha, no. I must not be a real photographer then. I've not done any of that."

"Tell me," he said, asking softly. I could see the insecurity in his eyes, the one he tried to hide casually by asking this question.

"Well, I dated in high school, my first boy friend and well, we broke up pretty soon." I chuckled, shaking my head at the memory of Mike. "We both decided that we were much better as friends. He started dating my then-best friend after that."

"Oh," he said. He added casually, "That's it?"

"Nah, but after that things got messy. I started dating my dad's best friend's son. We grew up together, he was more like a brother to me, but he had feelings for me. Well, everyone expected us to get together, so, I said yes to him." I said, thinking back to Jacob. "We together for almost a year, but I could never have the kind of feelings for him, which he wanted me to have. Finally, he didn't understand my photography. We didn't really end up on a good term, and I'll always be sad that I lost my friend, more than a boy friend."

I was quite for a moment or two, lost in the thoughts of Jacob, in the thoughts of Forks. "After that, I had another boyfriend in college, and we actually ended up living together, but again, we ended up as friends, rather than boyfriend and girlfriend. "

"And no one, right now, right?" Edward asked, not looking at me, instead looking down at our joint hands.

I sighed softly, realizing he was just as insecure as me, only about something different. I was insecure that I wasn't enough for him, but he was insecure that I might not want him. We both needed assurances from each other, and that sounded okay to me.

Pulling myself closer to him, I squeezed his hand, and replied, "No Edward, no one except you."

I wanted to tell him I had never felt so passionate about anybody, as I did for him, tell him that he was truly the first one that made my emotions go in whack, but I didn't. I didn't want to come across this strong so soon, and end up sounding like an irrational person. We had just met today for the first time, and started talking two weeks back. It was definitely too soon to scare him off.

"Bella," he said, looking at me from between his eyelashes, his face full of vulnerability, "You know, I've never dated anyone seriously. I've had girlfriends, who were more interested in my money or my fame. I've had girls who lived on the other side of the world and met me twice a year. I've also had girls just for the sake of it, just because I could. I'm not going to lie to you and sugar coat it. But I also want you to know, I've never felt like this, for anyone, ever before."

I looked at him, my breath caught in my throat. What he was telling me, it made my heart go wild.

"I know it's too soon, but I don't want to get into this, hiding my feelings from you. I feel so intensely about you, its crazy."

"No, its not," I said softly, "Its not crazy if I feel the same way."

His breath-taking smile was all the answer I needed.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Hi you guys,

Thank you so much for the love on the previous chapter. I hope the first meeting was all you hoped for. Let me know in the comments.

Follow the Instagram page _**Throughthelensfanfiction**_ for story updates and pictures.

Love to _**Twificoholics**_.

Lots of love.


	9. Chapter 9-First scare

**Chapter 9**

I stood in front of Victoria Hunter's house, willing my fingers to move and ring the doorbell. Although, my next meeting with her was supposed to be day after, on Thursday, exactly a week from our last meeting, she called me this morning and _told_ me to come today instead. When I protested, citing other commitments, she had thrown a fit over the phone, stating how she was the top actress in Hollywood right now, and how it was my _duty_ to adjust my schedule according to her timings. I wanted to tell her to go fuck herself.

 _Top actress in Hollywood, yeah right!_

I didn't want to continue on with her as a client, but I reasoned with myself, that today, I would just shoot the required photographs and be done with it. If today also, we didn't end up doing the photo shoot, then, I would tell her that I couldn't continue with her, due my time schedule, and she should find someone else.

Honestly, I think people would believe Alice's good recommendation of me as a photographer, over Victoria's bad mouthing, if it came to that.

I sighed, trying to force my fingers into submission and just press the doorbell, although I would give anything to be back at Edward's house.

I had left his place early this morning, with a huge smile on my face. Edward insisted last night that it was too late for me to go home, and I should just crash with him. _Purely innocent_ , he said. He even offered me the guest bedroom, if I was uncomfortable spending the night in the same room as him. I shook my head, and pulled him up from the couch, telling him to lead me to his bedroom.

His entire house was beautiful, and I could see why Esme was so much in demand, as an interior designer. His bedroom was on the upper floor, with again one entire wall made of glass, giving a whimsical view of the open skies outside. The bedroom itself, was done in soft earthy tones, with wooden flooring, wooden panels on the wall behind the bed, and soft lighting from behind the panels, bathing his room in a soft golden glow. The huge bed in the room, with charcoal colored bedding, was imposing, dominating the room, and I swallowed loudly as I stared at it for a few minutes.

The best part about his house though, was definitely his bathroom. It was minimalistic, with grey flooring and grey walls. I laughed when I saw there was an actual seating area in Edward's bathroom, in front of the washbasin. I raised my eyes at him, and he just laughed.

"Now I can finally use it. I can just sit here and watch you undress," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

We didn't sleep together that night. There was an unspoken understanding between us, that while we weren't waiting, we would do it when it felt right. There was no need for a big production. We were both adults, having done it before.

We spent the night, laying next to each other, my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. I had spent nights with guys before, yet, sleeping with Edward surpassed those nights easily. We woke up, facing each other, my body slightly lower that his and my head tucked in the crook of his arm. Our hands were joined, resting between us, and it felt intimate, right, as if we were made to just be there, next to each other. We didn't speak about it, but we both felt something in our souls.

I left his house, in the same car I had arrived in. Edward actually left before me, with a couple of bodyguards, under the pretext of going for coffee, just so the photographers would follow him, allowing me, to leave without any photographers hassling me. Of course, there was still a chance of couple of photographers following the car, being overly smart, but Edward and his team were proficient in dodging the paparazzi, and no wayward photographer stood a chance in front of Peter, who had smirked a _good morning_ , when I had left Edward's house.

Taking a deep breath, I rang the doorbell, waiting for the scared girl from last week to open the door. This time, I was determined to ask her if she was okay. However, I didn't get a chance, because another girl opened the door this time, looking just as scared as the girl from last week and ushering me in faster than humanly possible. Before I had a chance to even open my mouth, she had vanished, and Victoria was standing at the end of the hall, looking frightening, her face hidden by the shadows, but her head looking as if it was on fire due to her overly red curls.

Shaking my head, and taking a deep cleansing breath, I moved forward.

"Hi, Mrs. Hunter," I said simply, trying to smile, and hoping it didn't look like a grimace instead.

She nodded at me, and I though, her eyes flashed at something or someone behind me, before she turned and walked into the living room. I looked behind me, but not seeing anyone or anything out of place, I followed her in.

* * *

The shoot was difficult.

 _No, not difficult, but painful,_ I thought.

I had done difficult shoots before, but this, this was something else. I wanted to cry, bang head against the wall, jump off a cliff and then be run over by a bus. That would be easier compared to this photo session.

The first question, I had asked Victoria, was if her husband was home, and her eyes had narrowed and nostrils flared at my question, no doubt assuming I was interested in him.

 _As if!_

But when she had refused, stating that he had important things to do, than wait here for measly photographers like me, I didn't take it as an insult, just breathed easier, more relaxed now.

Just like our last meeting, Victoria didn't want to tell me what she had in mind, and any idea I had, was just met with a glare or a scoff. She didn't want to follow my directions, and just kept making the same pose with her head tilted back slightly. I really don't know if she was trying to look sexy or beautiful, but she just came across as looking cheap.

"Lower your chin slightly," I said, peering at Victoria through my camera. She ignored me, and raised her head higher. I shook my head, as I just clicked another bad photo.

Feeling my neck prickle, I turned, and saw James Hunter leaning against the door, staring at me. His face looked gaunt and he had purple bags under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in a long time. I ignored him, and turned around, not even saying a hello, not caring if it was rude. Now, it was definitely time to be done with this shitty shoot and get home.

I could feel his eyes following me, as I moved, and I was having a hard time, keeping my hands from shaking. I tried my best to ignore him, focusing on Victoria, and clicking like crazy.

"Done," I said firmly, lowering the camera from my face.

Victoria made a sour face. "It's not even been an hour," she said in a snotty tone. "Are you sure you've gotten good photos?"

"Yes, Mrs. Hunter," I said, in an absolute tone, giving no room for argument.

"I will only pay you, if I like the photos," she sneered at me, "Don't you forget it, girl.

I ignored the _girl comment_ , just nodding instead, and started packing up my equipment at top speed, wanting to get out of here, as soon as possible. I was halfway done, before Victoria realized that I wasn't going to reply to her. She huffed, and left the room, presumably to change. She was definitely slow in life.

I bent over my camera bag, tugging on the zip to close it, when I felt James behind me, standing uncomfortably close. I stood back up, abruptly, and his hands went around my waist, keeping me there. I regretted the loose fitted black and white striped pants and the white crop top I was wearing, which exposed my midriff.

"Mr. Hunter, what are you doing?" I said, hoping that my voice sounded stern.

He just leaned in, and I could feel his dirty breath on my neck. He bit my ear lobe, and I tried to move away from him, but his hands tightened on my waist. I would probably have bruises by tomorrow.

"Let me go," I demanded, in a loud tone, hoping Victoria or that girl would hear my voice.

My heart was beating loudly, and my face felt hot.

"Come on, sweetie pie," He said, in a raspy voice, as though, he had too much smoke in his lungs. His other hand, the one that wasn't on my waist, went up in my hair, and he pulled it tightly.

"Ouch," I said, involuntarily, as my hand went up in my hair, trying to loosen his grip.

Tears pricked my eyes, and I tried to reassure myself that nothing would happen to me. I tried to remember the self-defense my dad had taught me, but my body was paralyzed with fear, and I couldn't move a finger if I tried to.

James bit my ear lobe once again, before abruptly letting me go. I stumbled, before righting myself, and turning to stare at him with wide eyes. My one hand was still in my hair, and the other one hanging uselessly on its side. He grinned creepily at me.

"Say hi to little Alice from me," he said, before turning and sauntering out the room.

I stood there, like an idiot, staring after him, afraid he would come back. I jumped a little, when instead Victoria walked in. She stared at me as if I was crazy; giving me a look that clearly said, _get out of my house._ I picked up my unzipped camera bag, and the remaining half packed equipment, and hightailed out of there.

* * *

I drove home as fast as I could, my knuckles white from holding the steering so tightly, and my body shaking. I locked my apartment door behind me, propping the small coffee table from the living room in front of it, as means of securing it, and sat down on the couch, shivering uncontrollably.

I had never dealt with such creepiness in my life. I had heard about it from my dad, seen it on the television, read about it in stories, but to experience it in real life, that was different. It freaked me out. I pulled my knees up to my chest, shaking back and forth, trying to calm myself down. I tried to block out his face. I could sill feel his dirty breath on my neck, his teeth biting my ear lobes, and my hair still stung from where he had pulled at it.

Half an hour later, or may be it was an hour later, I was still shaking, and tears flowed relentlessly from my eyes. Wiping the wetness from my face, I reached for my phone. I fumbled with it, my fingers shaking, and it took me a while, to type a message to Alice, stating that I was unwell, and I wouldn't be able to make it to the team meeting. I dropped my phone back on the sofa, not caring to see Alice's reply. I had never missed any meeting or any shoot before, so hopefully, Alice wouldn't give me a hard time.

I went to the bathroom, and stood under the hot shower, fully dressed and trying to shake off the feeling of his hands from my body. My apartment had very limited hot water, and soon, I was just standing there shivering, under the freezing, cold water. I had seen this on TV, where actresses would sob uncontrollably in the shower, clutching their knees, and their mascara running down their face. But, it didn't make me feel better. When my toes and fingers, started to go numb from the cold water after a while, I finally got out. Peeling away my wet clothes, I went into my room, and pulled on a Forks police sweatshirt, that once belonged to my dad.

I sat underneath my bedroom window, leaning back against the wall. There was faint ringing in my ears, and I tried to block it out. But the more I blocked it, the more insistent it became. I finally came out of my stupor, and realized, it was my phone that was ringing, from the living room, where I had left it earlier. Going to the living room, I picked it up, and saw Edward was calling. I really didn't feel like talking to him right now. He would instantly realize that something was wrong with me.

I waited until the call got disconnected, and checked my phone. I had three missed calls, not counting the last call, and several texts, from him. I also had one text from Alice, saying she wished me well, and would catch me up, on the meeting later. I typed out a small message to Edward, stating that I was home, and feeling unwell, so was just sleeping.

He replied back instantly, asking if I was ok, and I just sent back a single "Yeah", before crawling into my bed. Even in the LA heat, I was wearing a sweatshirt, and I pulled the blanket over me, covering my head. My eyes were wide open under the blanket, staring into the darkness. In addition to feeling scared, I was now feeling miserable, for being so shitty with Edward. That man really cared for me, he had opened his home, his heart to me last night, and I had been so short with him. He really didn't deserve such behavior.

I cursed out loud, cursed James to the hell, for being a shitty human, for scaring me, for making me treat Edward this way.

 _Fucking piece of bat shit, that fucking creepy asshole, fucking coming onto me. Fuck!_

I shrieked, out loud, when I heard a bang on my door. I stayed under my blanket, not daring to breathe and straining my ears, to hear any movement. There was another _bang, bang, bang_ on the door. I sprang up from my bed, fishing out the pepper spray, from underneath my bed, that my dad had given me, two years back. I moved quietly to the front door, and maneuvered around the table I had put there, and peered into the eyehole on the door.

I gasped, when I saw that Edward was standing out there, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses.

I jumped, when he banged again on my door, and I quickly shouted out, "One second."

I pushed the table away from the door, and opened it, panting slightly from the exertion. Pulling Edward inside, before anyone could see him, I closed the door firmly behind him, making sure to lock it.

Once the table was once again, propped up against the door, I finally turned to look at him. He was staring at me, with a questioning look on his face; probably wondering, why I was acting crazy. It definitely didn't help, that I must have been looking like a fucking mess, wearing a fucking sweatshirt in this heat, hair looking like a drowned rat and my face, no doubt, red and blotchy from all the crying.

He, on the other hand, stood there, in jeans and a t-shirt, looking like Adonis.

 _Life was unfair._

He took off his sunglasses, and held up some flowers to me, that I hadn't seen before, and his other hand holding, what looked like a take away bag.

"What are you doing here?" I blurted out, idiotically, instead of thanking him for the lovely flowers. I saw hurt flash across his eyes, and I once again felt bad for my shitty behavior.

"Oh," he stammered, "Um, you said you weren't feeling well, so I got you flowers, and sushi. And, well, I didn't know if you can have sushi, when you're sick, so I got you chicken soup as well."

I stared at this wonderful man in front of me, who cared enough to bring me flowers and sushi and soup, just because I said I wasn't feeling well. I felt my eyes well up, at his thoughtfulness.

Again, instead of thanking him, for being such a lovely human being, I said harshly, "How did you get my address?"

Edward stared at me, his face full of shock. No doubt, he was wondering, what the fuck had possessed me, making me behave this way.

Not waiting for his answer, I continued, in an unkind tone, "You shouldn't be here. You should have waited for me to call you."

I looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes, to see the hurt, I had definitely caused him.

I started, when he pulled me in his arms. He had put down the things he was holding, on the floor.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, and I blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears that were beginning to fall from my eyes. I struggled against him, not wanting to become more of a mess in front of him. But he held tight, not letting me go. I finally slumped against him, and started bawling, like a baby, unable to stop. All the emotions I had gone through were coming out, and the events of the day were catching up,

The scared looking girl, the difficult shoot with Victoria, that fucking, shit-scaring encounter with James, and finally, Edward, this sweet, sweet man.

We stood there, in the small living room of my small apartment, Edward holding me, running his hands through my hair, as I cried. I tightened my grip on his t-shirt, silently thanking the Universe for giving me him.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Hi to all my wonderful readers.

So what do you guys think of James and Victoria? And how stupid is Bella, going back there? Let me know in the comments.

Follow the Instagram page **_Throughthelensfanfiction_** for story updates and pictures.

Million thanks to **_Twificoholics_**.

Lots of love.


	10. Chapter 10- First confessions

**Chapter 10**

I opened my eyes, slowly regaining consciousness, as my mind processed the events of the last twenty-four hours. My eyes felt puffy and swollen, not surprising, given the number of tears I had shed. My throat felt raw and parched, and my face felt sticky. Overall, I felt disgusting.

As I adapted to my surroundings, I realized that Edward was sprawled, next to me, on my tiny bed. This is not how I imagined having him over for the first time, and this, is definitely not how I imagined spending the night, especially, after the wonderful time we had had at his house.

Giving in, I got up, slowly, careful not to disturb the beautiful man next to me, who somehow, was still here after last night. I went into the bathroom and closed the door, quietly. I took my time, stretching out my limbs, feeling the satisfying crack of each limb.

I was quite a sight, as I analyzed myself in the mirror. My eyes were so swollen, that they almost looked closed. My nose was red and irritated around the edges, and my face was puffy. I peeled off the sweatshirt I had worn yesterday, feeling hot and sweaty under it, and got into the shower. I sighed, as the water took away the events of yesterday, the stiffness in my body, slowly ebbing away.

When I got out, Edward was awake, and sitting up on the bed. I stopped for a second, to admire the sight. Even just woken up, he looked exceptionally good, his jaw covered with a light stubble, and his hair extremely disheveled.

As I walked towards him, he looked up, not saying anything. I sat down next to him, gingerly, and he took my hand, softly playing with my fingers. He didn't ask anything, just waited, waited for me to be okay, to tell him what happened, when I was ready.

"Tha-", I started, but stopped. I cleared my throat, my voice thick and gruffy.

Starting again, I said, "Thank you."

He looked at me, still not saying anything. Not able to tell him anything yet, I delayed from the talk, and said instead, "I'm sorry, for crying like that."

Finally, Edward moved, pulling me into his lap, and saying, "Bella, you looked so scared yesterday."

"When you opened the door," he said, his eyes full of concern for me, "your face was white, and you were shaking so badly. There was a table pushed up against your door, and I'm assuming, it's not for nothing."

I didn't say anything, not being able to. When I remained silent, he put his forehead against mine, and whispered, "Talk to me Bella."

I pulled in a deep shaky breath. I kissed him once, lightly on the lips, then again and again, pressing my lips against his, needing to feel him. Our foreheads rested against each other's, our breaths mingling softly.

I put my face in his neck, and I told him, my voice a little muffled. I told him everything, how I met James and Victoria, for the first-time last week, that scared girl at their unwelcoming house, how creeped out I felt that day. I told him about yesterday, how scared I felt, how James's sweaty hands felt on my waist, how I could hear his ragged breathing in my ear.

I talked, not stopping even once, and he listened. I could feel him grow stiffer and stiffer with each word I said. But now that I had started, I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop.

When I finished, Edward still didn't say anything, just wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tighter into him. He pulled back, and kissed me sweetly, sucking on my upper lip, before pulling on the bottom one. His tongue moved against mine, mixing his flavor with mine. His hands went under the t-shirt I was wearing, and he pulled it up, and off me.

"Show me, where he touched you," He whispered.

I didn't know why we were whispering, but it seemed right. I touched my stomach, and his hands roamed across it, as if wiping James's hands off. His pinky dipped into my navel, and I sighed softly.

I touched my ear, and Edward leaned in and kissed my ear softly, breathing sweetly into it. He kissed the top of my ear, before placing small kisses all along my ear, pulling my ear lobe in his mouth and sucking it gently.

I touched my neck, and he placed open mouthed kisses all along it. Leaning my head back, supporting my head with one hand, he traced my neck with his other, placing kisses along my throat as he went, gently running his lips along my neck.

I touched my hair, and Edward's hand went into my hair, massaging my scalp with his fingers, placing kisses in my hair. He ran his fingers through my hair gently, removing all traces of James.

I looked at him with hooded eyes, and he kissed me again. It was sensual, intimate. It was sweet. We sat there like that, just holding each other.

* * *

Much later, we were sitting on the couch of the living room, the coffee table back at its place now. We had eaten omelets for breakfast, which I had cooked, since as Edward put it, he could burn water.

I smiled at him. "I can't believe you brought sushi, though I'm sorry it went to waste."

He grinned, "Yeah, well obviously, my girl was sick, and I wanted to make her feel better."

My heart beat twice at _my girl_.

"Your girl," I asked his casually, looking at him front between my lashes.

"My girl," he stated simple, kissing me on the lips.

Pulling back, his face was serious now, his eyes full of insecurity.

"Why didn't you call me, Bella?" Edward asked softly, his fingers lightly playing with my hair.

I sighed, not knowing how to answer.

"I don't know," I began. I was quiet for a minute, thinking before I started again. "I wanted to call you, but-" I stopped again.

"But," Edward prompted.

"But I didn't know if I should. If I could."

"Explain." Edward demanded.

"I know self-defense, Edward," I cried, desperate to explain to him. "My dad made sure of it. He made sure, that I knew how to defend myself, but I just clammed up. I mean, when he grabbed me, I clammed up so bad. I have never felt so scared in my entire life, and so ashamed. So ashamed, that the daughter of police chief couldn't defend herself."

I looked down, as I thought back to yesterday, to the first time I saw James, and how I just felt pure fear both times. Yesterday, I felt so afraid, and that's why I was ashamed of myself. I shouldn't have been afraid. I should have fought back, broken his hand for putting it on me, but I didn't do anything. I just ran away, like a scared little child. And that's why I couldn't face Edward, because, I couldn't even face myself.

Edward leaned in, taking my face in his hands.

"Bella,", Edward said, gently, but firmly. "Don't you dare feel ashamed. Real life situations can't be compared to classroom situations. In real life, no one tells you, that you're about to be attacked, and get ready to fight back. Our minds react differently, given the circumstances."

"But now you know," he continued. "You've experienced this in your life, and you've come out stronger. Next time god forbid, if anything happens, you will be stronger, and you will not back down."

He smiled and added, "Next time, you don't have to be a sobbing, blubbering mess."

I laughed at that. I poked him in the stomach, and said, "Better than your clingy ass."

"Yeah," He said, pulling me towards him, holding me tightly in his arms, "but clinging to your ass."

I smiled up at him, kissing him. "Yeah, I like that."

He grinned, kissing me once more. We had been doing that, a lot, kissing each other, and I didn't want it to stop.

"You know," Edward started again, his voice now full of tension, the playful mood gone. "James and I were in a movie together, few years back, right?"

I nodded, looking up at him. His eyes were tight around the corners, and his lips were drawn in a thin line. That had been Edward's big break in Hollywood, the one that put him in the hearts of millions across the globe.

He continued, "I was young, and James, he was older, more exciting. He had been in this business much longer than me."

He sighed, pulling away from me, his hands going into his hair.

"My parents always took care of me," he said. "They made sure, that I wasn't over worked, that I got proper rest. They were always careful, that I didn't start drinking or doing drugs. I mean, of course I drank, but they made sure that it was never too much, always limited, never anything out of control. They protected me from the bad parts of this business. My parents did so much for me, for my career."

He sighed, looking down at his feet. I didn't interrupt, feeling he needed to get this out.

"Then," he said sadly, "I met James. He started coming over to our house, sometimes staying over as well. He was always very sweet, very gentlemanly, perfect manners and everything. But my mom, she never trusted him. She always said, that there was something off about him, something sinister, that he kept hidden."

Edward had a faint, sick look in his eyes, as if he wished he didn't have to say what was coming next.

"I was young," he said, "young and foolish. I fought with my parents, blaming them for keeping me sheltered, never letting me enjoy. It was James, putting those thoughts in my head. I started drinking, much more than before and after a while, I was always drunk. Then, I moved onto drugs. It started with weed, hash, and then cocaine. I couldn't believe, the rush it gave me. I performed so much better with the drugs in my system."

As Edward told me his story, I vaguely remember the newspaper tabloids, 'The Wild Edward Cullen', 'Edward Cullen caught in another DUI', 'Edward Cullen lands himself in trouble again'.

"Thank fully, my parents stepped in, before I destroyed myself completely. They cancelled all my upcoming projects, appearances, everything," he said. "I shouted at them, screamed at them, but they didn't relent. Finally, it was Alice that got through to me."

I grabbed Edward's hand, and he turned his head towards me, giving me a tight smile, before continuing, "Alice and I, we have a connection. Lot of people call it 'the twin connection'. I don't know, if that's what it is, but we've always been able to feel each other's emotions, always able to tell if something is wrong with the other one. She's the one, that made me finally see, how I had been behaving.

"I took some time off; I came back on track. I resumed my work, but I stopped partying, going out just for the sake of it. I kept my head down, focusing on my work."

Edward sighed deeply, as he said, "Once, James got really drunk on set. He wasn't in any condition to be left alone, so I brought him home with me. My parents weren't happy, but they were kind enough, not to kick out a person in need."

Edward turned towards me, his face reflecting the dark memories of his past.

"That night," Edward said, his voice shaking with anger, "I woke up with this, _really_ bad feeling, as though, Alice was in trouble. Like I said, Alice and I, had always been able to tell, if the other person was in trouble. I tried to shake the feeling off, but I couldn't. I thought, she was right there in the other room, right next door, nothing was wrong, but the more I ignored it, the stronger it became."

I had a bad feeling about where Edward was going with the story. Nothing good could come out, if James was involved.

"Finally," Edward said, "I went into Alice's room, just to check on her. I thought, I wouldn't wake her up, but I would just get the satisfaction that she was okay. But her door was locked. I thought about just going back to bed, but the feeling, it was so over whelming, that I almost crumbled under the pressure of it."

Edward got up, pacing as he spoke, his hands pulling at his hair, "I broke her door open, and James was there, on top of her. His hand was covering her mouth, so she couldn't scream, and his pants were off. I had come in at the last second."

My mind spun with the information. God knows, what that beast would have done with Alice, had Edward been one second too late.

Edward continued, "I don't know, what happened next. I try very hard to remember, but even after so many years, it's just a black screen to me. The next thing I remember, was Emmett and my dad, pulling me off James. I had apparently, beaten him to a pulp."

I looked down at my fingers, feeling angry, angry at James for being a bastard, angry at Victoria for not seeing what her husband was.

I looked up, when Edward said, "Alice decided she didn't want to press any charges. Not because she was afraid, but because she was thinking about me, about how, the press would eat me alive."

Edward finally sat back down, and I immediately took his hand, holding onto him.

"I pulled out of the movie," Edward said, "telling the producers, what had happened, in confidence. Whatever may be wrong with this industry, one thing about it is, that no one tolerates rape, of any kind. No matter how established you are in the business, no one wants to work with someone, who has been accused of rape. The producers kept me, chucked James out."

Edward turned towards me, looking at me properly, for the first time, since he had started telling me the story.

"James and Victoria, have hated me and my family ever since," Edward sighed, "blaming us, for their loss of opportunities. I never thought James would come back to haunt me, so many years later."

* * *

I was lying down in my bed, later that night, strolling through my Instagram. The Instaverse was buzzing with news, that Edward was spotted taking out sushi the previous day, and hadn't returned to his house all night, yesterday and all day, today. Everyone just _knew,_ that Edward was with Tanya. In fact, everyone was positive of having spotted him exiting Tanya's house.

 _Oh, the joys._

In reality, Edward had left my house shortly before, with his baseball cap and sunglasses on, giving me a sweet kiss, and a naughty wink.

My mind was still on the story Edward had told me. Images kept going through my head, of a young Alice, scared, with that monster on top of her. I kept imagining, how Edward must have pulled him off Alice at the very last second. I shuddered to think, what would have happened, had Edward been a moment too late.

It was surprising to me, that people like James and Victoria, existed in this world. I came from a very sheltered place. Nothing ever happened in Forks. In fact, I can't remember my father ever touching his gun, except to place it on his waist every morning before work, and then keeping it back, once he was home.

Even in college, in New York, I never experienced something like this. Of course, there were incidents like mugging, or eve teasing, but nothing like this.

But, I guess, like Edward said, now that I had gone through this, I was better prepared. The next time, James or anyone for that matter, tried anything with me, I wouldn't give into my fear. I would fight back, and I would defend myself.

That was the last thought that ran through my mind, as I turned over and let sleep overtake me.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Those who have stuck with this story, thank you so much. I can never ask for more wonderful readers than you.

Follow the Instagram page _**Throughthelensfanfiction**_ for story updates and pictures.

Lots of love.


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